3 minute read

Richard Collett has two chances to ace Saturday's Gr.2 Grant Plumbing Wellington Guineas (1400m) at Trentham.

The Pukekohe trainer will produce Top Prospect and Swissta, both by Westbury Stud stallion Swiss Ace, in the three-year-old sprint, confident he has two horses capable of winning the race.

"They should be two competitive chances," Collett said.

"Saracino is bringing Group One form from Te Rapa and you have to rate him as the one to beat, but there looks to be genuine tempo and that will help my horses. It will be the last 100m that my pair will be at their most dominant."

Both Collett horses have won at 1600m, but the Wellington Guineas had appeal as a suitable target.

Top Prospect looked a Derby horse when he won three straight races in the spring culminating in his Listed Trevor Eagle Memorial success at Ellerslie in November.

"He split a muscle in his hindquarters and it bled into the muscle. We had hopes of getting him into the Derby - and I still think he'll run out a strong 2000m - but we were behind the eight-ball and had no choice but to back off him," Collett said.

"He's probably better at a mile, but there aren't any good three-year-old miles around. When we missed the boat of getting to the Avondale Guineas and Derby, we looked up what was around and this was most suitable."

Top Prospect's mid-term target is the Gr.2 Valachi Downs Championship Stakes (2100m) at Ellerslie on April 22.

Swissta also put together a sequence of three wins earlier this season, culminating with his Gr.2 Great Northern Guineas (1600m) win at Ellerslie on New Year's Day.

"He then ran a solid-enough race in the Karaka 3YO Mile behind Volpe Veloce but we probably made a tactical error riding him in front," Collett said.

"We'd ridden him on speed, but not in front before then and he raced a bit hard for his own good. He's freshened up nicely and we think he can be a good chance as well."