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Hopefully trainer Graham Richardson has a comfortable seat and some good tunes on the stereo in his motor vehicle after spending most of the weekend travelling between racing venues.

Richardson made the nine hour return trip to Palmerston North from his Matamata base on Saturday to be with his stable runners at Awapuni. He was well rewarded when the team racked up a winning treble through the deeds of Wildflower, Pure Lorde and unbeaten filly Volpe Veloce.

At the same time his winning run continued at Te Rapa with underrated sprinter Los Vargas booking a shot at higher honours with a gritty win in the Lowe Schollum & Jones Premier rating 85 1200.

When contacted on Sunday morning to discuss the victory, Richardson was preparing to make the two hour drive to Ellerslie with two more members of the team in action on the day.

“I think I’ve seen more of my car’s interior than anything else this weekend,” he laughed.

“It has been constant travelling but our results so far have certainly made it worthwhile. We had a tremendous day at Awapuni and that win at Te Rapa was the icing on the cake.”

Richardson was quick to praise the toughness of Los Vargas who overcame a small but quality line-up at Te Rapa.

“Man she is tough,” he said.

“She just doesn’t know when she’s beaten and tries her heart out. Her form didn’t look the best but you could ignore her last run at Otaki where she just didn’t cop the track.

“Shaun (McKay) rode her beautifully and when he swapped the whip to his left hand halfway down the straight she found another gear and got home over the top of them.”

Richardson will wait to see how his runners come through the weekend before confirming their next assignments, however, he does have tentative plans in place.

“After that win I’m keen to take Los Vargas to Ellerslie on Boxing Day,” he advised.

“I think she is up to stakes level so a run in the Listed sprint, the Hallmark Stud Handicap, is my preference.

“Both Wildflower and Pure Lorde will also be heading to Ellerslie for a rating 75 mile and the Dunstan Stayers final on New Year’s Day respectively.

“Volpe Veloce has several options available to her including either the Eight Carat on Boxing Day or the Royal Stakes on New Year’s Day. Her recovery will tell us which of those is the most viable but if she takes a few days longer than expected there is always the Levin Classic at Trentham later in the month.”