Well-travelled mare House Of Cartier will have her second start back in New Zealand at Tauherenikau today (Monday 8 Jan) with trainer and co-owner Peter Didham looking for her to provide some answers on future plans he has for the valuable broodmare prospect.
House Of Cartier will tackle the Listed Property Brokers Wairarapa Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes (1600m) after finishing second over 1400m at Trentham last month in the first run of a new campaign.
The five-year-old mare commenced her career in New Zealand under the guidance of Pukekohe mentor Nigel Tiley, where she won once from six starts and finished second in the Group 2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m) at Ellerslie.
Transferred to John Sargent's Sydney stable, the daughter of multiple stakes winner Shez Sinsational was successful on two further occasions, while also finishing third in the Group 1 Australasian Oaks (2000m) at Morphettville before heading back to New Zealand late last year.
An eye-catching run for third over 1000m at the Otaki trials in early January preceded her Trentham run, although Didham believes it may have contributed to her getting beaten first up. “She came home from John Sargent's in good condition, so I gave her the trial just to get a feel of where she was at,” Didham said.
“She went huge, running third under a hold which may have just taken a bit of the sprint out of her legs. “They crawled early at Trentham and then sprinted home and although she got home nicely, I think she might have been able to win that day if she didn't have the trial.
“We were really happy with the run and she has improved out of it for tomorrow. “She is a stayer so the mile probably isn't her go, but it fits in nicely for her. “She has a good draw, a top rider aboard (Johnathan Parkes) so she will be there and will go a really good race again.”
Didham doesn't have any major plans for the mare, preferring to play it by ear in the early stages of this campaign. “We're just going to take it race by race at this stage,” he said. “She is probably a little bit better with some cut in the track so she may just have this one and then have a quiet time until the tracks start to ease.
“We've done a few things differently in the new environment, swimming her and the like to keep her a happy horse. “Depending on what she shows here she may even go back to Australia if her form warrants it.
“The good thing is that there are plenty of options for a mare like her and should she go to the matrons' paddock later this year, she will be a very valuable commodity. “She is a half sister to Sinarahma, who was Group One placed last week, so the dam Shez Sinsational is becoming a very hot property.
“We've got a lovely Savabeel two-year-old out of Shez Sinsational who had her first gallop along this week. “She's a lovely horse, so the family is really starting to do good things.”
Didham has another four runners entered for Tauherenikau and is hopeful of picking up a victory despite several having to contend with wide draws. “I've got some nice, promising horses going around on Monday including Champers, who is a half to Group One winner On The Rocks,” he said.
“She wants a bit more ground but I'm expecting a good run, while Sassy Susan has a horror draw over 1000m but needs to run as you have to wait so long to get a start around here at present as there aren't that many maiden options. “Jessie's Rock and Kusuda are also going well so I'm hopeful we can have a good day out.”