Two bargain buys will represent New Zealand trainers Kelvin and Aimee Tyler in the richest three-year-old race in their region on Saturday.
The father-and-daughter partnership will saddle NZD$3000 yearling purchase Carlos and NZD$800 buy Master Marko in the ILT Ascot Park Hotel Southland Guineas (1600m) at Invercargill, hopeful either can make a mockery of their budget costs.
The Tylers produced Lightning Jack to win the race in 2020 and while Kelvin Tyler concedes neither rank in his class, he's optimistic he can still snare the major spoils.
“I wasn't going to run Carlos but he's come through his win over 2200m last week in great order. He's dropping back in distance but there's rain forecast and I thought that might make it a bit of a grind which would suit him,” Tyler said.
“He hasn't got a lot of brilliance but he just keeps grinding away. Master Marko was always going to run. He's been going good races and his run in the Dunedin Guineas was massive.
“He was parked three and four wide the whole way but he was still running on better than anything. I'm pretty happy with him really.
“There's still some question over how he handles a wet track but he's trained all right on them at home. We've got two really nice chances.”
Highly Recommended gelding Carlos was a purchase for Tyler out of the Book 3 session of the Karaka yearling sales in 2020 from the Berkley Stud draft, while Contributer gelding Master Marko was a gavelhouse.com purchase from Raffles Farm.
Both have already earned stakes in excess of their purchase price, with Master Marko placing in the Listed Dunedin Guineas (1500m) at Wingatui earlier this month.
The Tylers could shoot for a feature double at Ascot Park with last-start Listed Dunedin Cup (2400m) winner Kilowatt thriving ahead of the Baillie & Lewis Pharmacy Invercargill Gold Cup (2600m), in which he will be ridden by the stable's three kilogram-claiming apprentice Savish Khetoo.
“Up until this year, he's been a horse that maybe 2000m was his distance but past that would find him out. But this year he's really reached maturity and he's looking like he wants two miles,” Tyler said.
“He just grinds away and the rain-affected track helped him last time, so I really can't fault him for this weekend. He's really bright in his work and he's got to be a good chance again.”
The Tylers will also produce Pinhead, Kitty Power, He's Got Power, So Much Mour, Pete The Driver, Ying Resolute, Tyler Eight and Zambezi Zipper on the undercard, with Tyler Eight, a winner of four of his eight starts, sure to race well again.
“I've got some nice horses going but I really hope the rain does come because that's how Invercargill races best. Otherwise it can be pretty hard to haul in the frontrunners. It can be like trying to pass a bus downhill – you just can't catch them.
“Tyler Eight is one of those gross-doing horses that hasn't put a foot wrong since his last start. He's got another win in this grade before he goes to open class so we're giving him his crack here.
“We've got Zambezi Zipper in the same race and he's going along nicely too. Horses like him and Pete The Driver are really going to come into their own once the tracks turn.”
Meanwhile, Tyler reported that former stable flagbearer Lightning Jack was doing beach training in preparation for a return to Annabel Neasham's stable for an autumn campaign, while King Of The Castle, in whom Tyler and his wife Vanessa retained a 30 percent share, was also building up in training for fellow Sydney trainer Joe Pride.