3 minute read

It's not common that a trainer wants to slow down a promising racehorse but that's precisely what David Greene had to do with Keely Be in order to get her on track to fulfilling her potential.

The Te Rapa trainer now hopes his efforts to subdue Keely Be's over-enthusiasm could be rewarded when she shoots for a hat-trick of wins in Monday's Dunstan Feeds Rising Stars Championship Final (1500m) at Ellerslie.

"She's really learned how to be a racehorse this time in. She's always been quite a physically-imposing horse — big and strong," Greene said.

"She just wanted to over-race last preparation but now she's now learning to relax and finish off her races. We've just had to try to keep slowing her down and teaching her to relax — and we gave her a really nice, quiet trial.

"We're hoping she'll get up over ground and develop into a nice stayer."

But before that happens, Greene believes Roc de Cambes four-year-old Keely Be can give her rivals a run for their money in the inaugural Rising Stars Championship Final.

"It's a funny race the way the weights have come up and she's not ideally placed in the handicap but with the good stake, it's worth rolling the dice," Greene said.

"We think she'll run well but anyway we plan to race her again on the last day in the special conditions maiden and she should be a strong chance in that."

The Greene stable will have a strong presence at Ellerslie through the Christmas carnival, with several runners in action over the three days.

Domesday filly Savelle, who ran a brave second at Te Rapa on debut last month, tackles the maiden two-year-old race on the 29th, while stable stars Stolen Dance and Rising Shot will both be entered for the Gr.2 Rich Hill Mile (1600m) on New Year's Day.

Rising Shot and Stolen Dance finished second and third respectively behind Coldplay in this month's Gr.2 Cal Isuzu Stakes (1600m) at Te Rapa, though Greene said Stolen Dance could yet go to the 1400m open handicap at Tauranga on January 2 as a leadup to the Gr.1 Thorndon Mile at Trentham on January 28.