Damask Rose back on track after Avondale trial

Te Akau Racing is slowly coming out of its winter hibernation, with the country’s leading stable stepping out some of their topliners at the Avondale trials on Tuesday.

“July is a pretty quiet month for us, but we have got a nice team for the spring that is slowly building up, and it was good to see a few of them out and about today,” said Sam Bergerson, who trains in partnership with Mark Walker.

The $2.4 million earner Damask Rose made her first public appearance in New Zealand since winning the inaugural NZB Kiwi (1500m) at Ellerslie last year, and she was given a quiet hit-out over 1000m.

The daughter of Savabeel had nine starts in Australia this season, and while she failed to add to her win tally, she placed in the Group 3 Matron Stakes (1600m), Group 3 Mannerism Stakes (1400m), and Group 3 Bellmaine Stakes (1200m).

Bergerson said she didn’t have things go her way across the Tasman.

“Unfortunately, she didn’t have the rub of the green in a lot of her starts,” he said. “There is no hiding over there, you need everything to go your way, and unfortunately for her it didn’t. But we know on her day she is class, so fingers crossed we can get her back to some really good form.

“We have given her a really good break back here in New Zealand.”

Bergerson was happy enough with Damask Rose’s trial and he said the rising five-year-old mare will likely be targeted at next month’s Group 2 Waikato Stud Foxbridge Plate (1200m) in a bid to gain her place in the Group 1 Proisir Plate (1400m) at Ellerslie a fortnight later.