Adverse weather has forced multiple Group 1 winner Quintessa to take an unorthodox route to Saturday’s Group 1 Livamol Classic.
The Te Akau Racing mare made an appearance at the Awapuni trials on Monday.
Prepared by Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson at Matamata, Quintessa got her preparation off to a flying start winning the Group 1 Proisir Plate (1400m), but she was scratched from the second leg of the triple crown, the Group 1 Howden Insurance Mile, at Te Rapa, because of a heavy surface.
In the hands of stable rider Opie Bosson, Quintessa settled at the tail of the field in her heat, while stablemate Midnight Blue strode to the top for Samantha Collett.
Bosson asked her for an effort turning for home and she responded well, striding up to finish second behind Sailor Jack.
Bergerson was pleased with what he saw from the daughter of Shamus Award, who didn’t trial in her usual blinkers.
“It’s been a pretty tough time of it with the weather lately, so it was a good opportunity to get on a reasonable surface,” Bergerson said.
