B D Joe again showed he has become the perfect horse at the perfect time with a brilliant victory in the Ashburton Flying Stakes, holding off a bold mid-race challenge by Victorian hope Rock N Roll Doo to score.
Mick Stanley’s New Zealand raid got off to a challenging start with Rock N Roll Doo galloping at his first competitive standing start to initially fall to last, before recovering with a mid-race move to sit parked for much of the journey.
He challenged the leader at the turn but, first-up and on the road, tired late into sixth to finish about six metres in arrears of winner B D Joe.
The latter is a Steve and Amanda Telfer trained four-year-old who continued his dream spring with a strong and polished performance, sealing a hat-trick of wins in lead-ups to the country’s greatest race for driver Benjamin Butcher.
The victory was set up by a brilliant beginning, with B D Joe stepping straight to the lead and looking extremely hard to catch as far as 2000m from home in the 2400m feature.
After fighting off a star-studded line up there is not doubt that the cup dreams of Butcher and the Telfer camp are well and truly alive.
“That is everyone’s dream in the game,” Butcher said.
“With the way he is coming into it with these wins, I am hopeful. It is still another race and you have still got to hope for a draw and you have still got to hope everything goes right on the day. But with the way everything has been going, I am pretty positive.”
The only mid-race move in the Ashburton Flying Stakes came when aforementioned Aussie raider Rock N Roll Doo moved around to sit parked at the bell.
Rather than feeling the heat, B D Joe knew it was time to get serious.
“He has gone super, when the Aussie horse came up beside him he really got up and got into his work,” Butcher said.
“He has hit the line, I’m ecstatic. He is doing everything right at the moment, the lead up has been great and he is really starting to peak like we need him to.”
Alta Wiseguy rattled home along the inner to finish fourth behind his stablemate, in the last public outing of his New Zealand Cup preparation.
Trainers Steve and Amanda Telfer will take the slightly rare step of not starting either of their cup starters in the New Zealand Cup trial or the Kaikoura Cup.
Steve Telfer said both horses had a good base of fitness from several lead-up runs and trials and were exactly where they wanted them to be.
The run of the race behind the winner came from northern star Old Town Road, who flew home into second behind B D Joe. The winner ran a 53.4sec last 800m from the lead.
Old Town Road rushed home from behind the pace potentially breaking 53 seconds in a stunning effort on a wet Ashburton track.
That was surely enough to boost the northern pacer’s New Zealand Cup ranking to gain him a start on the second Tuesday in November.
Spankem was a big improver out of a fair Methven Cup run, running on well to take third.
The favourite Self Assured disappointed punters with his seventh placing. Though the pacer didn’t get all favours in the run home, he didn’t hit the line like he can, either.
The other stars of the day were brilliant trotter Muscle Mountain, who led throughout to win the Flying Trot in effortless fashion, while superstar juvenile filly Millwood Nike remained unbeaten in her Sires’ Stakes heat and Republican Party was outstanding in the three-year-old Sophomore.
