Improving galloper Terravista continued his march towards the Doncaster Mile with a tenacious win in the Group 3 $150,000 Liverpool City Cup (1300m) at Warwick Farm today.
Terravista is on his way to the Doncaster Mile with a win in the Liverpool City Cup. Photo by Steve Hart.
Terravista is weighted with 50kgs in the Group 1 $3m The Star Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Randwick on April 12 and if he continues to improve could be a genuine light weight chance.
Terravista ($3.20 favourite) made it two wins from two starts from a spell after scoring first up in the Group 3 $150,000 Southern Cross Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on February 22.
Winning jockey Jason Collett was unable to get any cover today and Terravista was caught wide but still responded to score a long head win over the Kiwi three year old El Roca ($4.40) with Ninth Legion ($21) working to the line strongly for third another two lengths away.
Trainer Joe Pride is hoping that Terravista will be able to get a better run when he steps him up to 1500m in the Group 2 $175,000 Ajax Stakes at Rosehill in two weeks.
“Off to the Ajax now, 1500m, I think he is a better horse with cover and a genuine tempo, I would like to think he will get that at his next start,” Pride said.
Pride is also resisting the temptation to put the blinkers on the four year old after Collett suggested he needed them to keep him focused at the finish.
“He seems to switch off a little bit late, it will be interesting to see what Jason has to say. He keeps telling me to put the set of blinkers on, but it is kind of hard to make gear changes on winners, isn’t it,” Pride said.
“So he might get them eventually, and it might be when we have our grand final
“He did the right thing, Jason, he kept him balanced up. If you are going to be trapped wide you don’t want to be trapped wide and looking and working. He was as relaxed as he could and still showed his trademark acceleration.”
“Maybe he was a little big in the yard today, he got a little bit tired late, but he got the job done.”
Cambridge trainer Trent Busuttin had to be happy with the run of El Roca to finish second after missing out on a run last week when a late scratching at Rosehill and the three year old is now on track to back up next week I the Group 1 $600,000 Royal Randwick Guineas (1600m) at Randwick.
