MR MOMENTUM 

PLACE: Phar Lap Raceway-Timaru

DATE:   12th September

RACE:   3

TIME:    12.50pm

DISTANCE:  1200 Metres

DRAW:  9

WEIGHT: 55.5kgs

JOCKEY: Chris Johnson

Mr Momentum has been coming along nicely in his work, is fit and well. Track conditions on the day will be a test and he is a young horse on debut against older horses with experience, but with luck in the running, he provided he cops the track conditions, he is a good place chance 

VOLKARRIE

PLACE:  Hastings

DATE:  Wednesday 5th May

RACE:  5

TIME:  2:25pm

DISTANCE:  2000m

DRAW:  8

WEIGHT:  56.5k

JOCKEY:  Shafiq Rusof (claims 4kg)

Mark Walker comments:

Volkarrie has been coming along well and he has drawn 8 out of 9 on a Good 3 track.  Stable apprentice jockey Shafiq Rusof will take the mount again and 4kg off his back.  I am pleased with him heading into this race as he has pulled up well from his winning run at Woodville.  Shafiq knows him well and should be able to position him well, back in the field from the wide barrier draw; he will just ride him quietly from the gates and position him where he is happy.  He is stepping up in class but he gets into this race with a luxury weight of 52.5kg with the claim, he looks in good order and with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance. 

RIO FORTUNE

PLACE:  Te Rapa

DATE:  Saturday 1st May

RACE:  5

TIME:  1:30pm

DISTANCE:  1200m

DRAW:  1

WEIGHT:  56kg

JOCKEY:  Noel Harris

 Mark Walker comments:

Rio Fortune has been coming along well and he has drawn 1 out of 20 but they only run14; on a dead track.  Senior jockey Noel Harris will take the mount as James McDonald had a tough decision and has elected to ride his stable mate Via Veneto.  I am very pleased with him heading into this race as he has been working along nicely and he has trained on well.  Noel and his experience should be able to position him well in the field from the ace barrier draw.  There is a little bit of rain around and the sting off the track will suit him ideally.  He looks in very good order and with a bit of luck in the running he should be a strong each way chance. 

TELL A TALE

PLACE:  Ellerslie

DATE:  Saturday 17th April

RACE:  8

TIME:  3:54pm

DISTANCE:  1600m

DRAW:  19

WEIGHT:  55.5kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

Mark Walker comments: 

Tell A Tale has been coming along well and he has drawn 19 out of 22 but they only run 18.  Stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am pleased with him heading into this race as he has been working along nicely, I wasn’t very pleased when I seen the barrier draw however, James knows him well and he should be able to position him well back in the field from the wide barrier draw, he will just have to ride him back and for a touch of luck as he hasn’t got any other option but he will give him every opportunity from there.  Hopefully there is plenty of speed up front early in the race so he has the chance to get home strongly.  He does have a hard task here, it is a good field as you would expect being a (Group 1) event, however he is well weighted in this race at 55.5kg, he looks in good order and with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance. 

RIO FORTUNE

PLACE:  Ellerslie

DATE:  Saturday 17th April

RACE:  6

TIME:  2:41pm

DISTANCE:  1200m

DRAW:  1

WEIGHT:  58kg

JOCKEY:  Shafiq Rusof (claims 4kg)

Mark Walker comments: 

 Rio Fortune has been coming along well and he has drawn 1 out of 9 on a good track.  Stable apprentice jockey Shafiq Rusof will take the mount and 4kg off his back as he has been allocated the top weight of 58kg.  Also I don’t wish him to have a hard race before heading into the (Group 3) Cambridge Breeders Stakes next time out as this is our main mission and the race we want to be peaking for.  I am very pleased with him heading into this race however as he has been working along well.  Shafiq knows him well and he should be able to position him well in the field from the ace barrier draw and he will give him every opportunity from there.  It is a good field, he looks in good order and with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance. 

CHANSON D’AMOUR

PLACE:  Riccarton

DATE:  Saturday 27th March

RACE:  3

TIME:  1:05pm

DISTANCE:  1000m

DRAW:  6

WEIGHT:  57kg

JOCKEY:  Kylie Williams

Mark Walker comments: 

Chanson d'Amour has been coming along well and she has drawn 6 out of 8 on a good track.  Senior jockey Kylie Williams will take the mount.  I am pleased with her heading into this race as her work has been good during the week but we will just be using this race as a stepping stone for future assignments.  Kylie should be able position her well in the field from the wide barrier draw and she will give her every opportunity there by just settling her back and letting her get home strongly.  She will take improvement out of the run, it is quite a strong field and the 1000m will probably be to short for her, she looks in good order so with a bit of luck in the running she should be a good place chance, however if she runs in the first five in this fresh up I will be more than happy with her performance and we can look forward to her stepping up over more distance next time out

RIO FORTUNE

PLACE:  Tauranga

DATE:  Saturday 27th March

RACE:  6

TIME:  3:17pm

DISTANCE:  1300m

DRAW:  2

WEIGHT:  58kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

 Mark Walker comments:

Rio Fortune  has been coming along well and he has drawn 2 out of 9 on a good track.  Stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am pleased with him heading into this race as he has done well since his last start fine win.  James should be able position him well in the field from the good barrier draw and give him every opportunity from there.  He has gone up in the weights quickly and will need a nice run to carry that weight, however he looks in good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance. 

LORD BRILLANTE

 PLACE:  Waipa

DATE:  Friday 26th March

RACE:  2

TIME:  1:55pm

DISTANCE:  1150m

DRAW:  6

WEIGHT:  56.5kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

 Mark Walker Comments:

Lord Brillante has been coming along well since his winning trial and he has drawn 6 out of 11 on a good track.  Stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am pleased with him heading into this race as he has worked up nicely this week.  James should be able position him well in the field from the barrier draw and he will give him every opportunity.  He does need good ground being a Volksraad so if the track is wet I will elect to scratch him.  He looks in good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance, if the track stays in good condition.

TELL A TALE

PLACE:  Ellerslie

DATE:  Saturday 13th March

RACE:  8

TIME:  4:42pm

DISTANCE:  2000m

DRAW:  3

WEIGHT:  59kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

Mark Walker comments below: 

Tell A Tale has been coming along well and he has drawn 3 out of 11 on a good track.  Stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am pleased with him heading into this race as his work on Tuesday morning was good and that will be all the fast work we do with him this week.  James should be able position him well in the field from the good barrier draw, he should get every opportunity to finish the race off well as there looks to be plenty of speed up front in the race which should suit him ideally.  It is a very strong field however he looks in good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance, but if he run in the top four in this type of field I will be more than happy with his performance.

RIO FORTUNE

PLACE:  Ellerslie

DATE:  Saturday 13th March

RACE:  4

TIME:  2:10pm

DISTANCE:  1200m

DRAW:  5

WEIGHT:  56kg

JOCKEY:  Vinnie Colgan

Mark Walker comments below: 

Rio Fortune has been coming along well and he has drawn 5 out of 18 but they only run14 on a good track.  Senior jockey Vinnie Colgan will take the mount.  I am pleased with him heading into this race as he has trained on well since his last start.  Vinnie should be able position him well in the field from the good barrier draw.  This race has come up a very strong field as there are a great bunch of 3yr olds around this season, a little bit of rain to take the sting off the track would only enhance his chances, however he looks in good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance, but if he run in the top five in this type of field I will be more than happy with his performance.

PLACE:  Hastings

DATE:  Saturday 6th March

RACE:  6

TIME:  2:47pm

DISTANCE:  1600m

DRAW:  6

WEIGHT:  55kg

JOCKEY:  Jason Waddell

Mark Walker' comments below: 

He has been coming along well and he has drawn 6 out of 8 on a good track.  Senior Jockey Jason Waddell will take the mount.  I am pleased with him leading into this race as he has trained on nicely since his fine win at Rotorua.  Jason should be able to position him well in the field from the barrier draw and give him every opportunity.  This is a very good field being on a Saturday, however he is in good form and this is a TBS Bonus race worth $15,000 which he is eligible for and worth running for, even though he is dropping back to the 1600m distance he looks in good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance. 

TELL A TALE 

PLACE:  Matamata 

DATE:  27th February

RACE:  9

TIME:  5:11pm

DISTANCE:  2000m

DRAW:  8

WEIGHT:  57.5kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

 Mark Walker comments below: 

Tell A Tale has been coming along well and he has drawn 8 out of 11 on a good track.  Stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am pleased with him heading into this race and he has trained on well since his great run at Te Rapa.  James should be able to position him well in the field from the barrier draw and he gets into this race well at the weights carrying 57.5kg with Veloce Bella carrying ½ a kilo more than him this time out.  It is a good field however he has the home track advantage, he looks in very good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a strong each way chance.

RIO FORTUNE

PLACE:  Matamata

DATE:  27th February

RACE:  3 

TIME:  1:20pm

DISTANCE:  1200m 

DRAW:  7 

WEIGHT:  56kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

Mark Walker comments below:

Rio Fortune has been coming along well and he has drawn 7 out of 17 but they only run 14.  Stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am pleased with him heading into this race and his work has been good this week.  James should be able to position him well in the field from the barrier draw and he comes into this well at the weights carrying the 56kg.  It is a very good field, however he has the home track advantage, he looks in very good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance.  

VOLKARRIE 

PLACE:  Rotorua

DATE:  19th February

RACE:  5

TIME:  3:07pm

DISTANCE:  1950m

DRAW:  4

WEIGHT:  55kg

JOCKEY:  Shane Dye

Mark Walker Comments:

 He has been coming along well and he has drawn 4 out of 9 on a dead track.  Senior jockey Shane Dye will take the mount as James McDonald was committed to another ride before we entered him for this.  It was unfortunate that Wairoa scrapped his race tomorrow however I am pleased with him heading into this race on Friday as he worked up nicely yesterday morning.  Shane should be able to position him well in the field from the good barrier draw and he should get a nice run throughout around mid field.  It is a step up in class for him but this race has a TBS Bonus of $15,000 which he is eligible for, he looks in very good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a good each way chance.

TELL A TALE

PLACE:  Te Rapa 

DATE:  13th February

RACE:  7

TIME:  4:17pm

DISTANCE:  2000m

DRAW:  2 

WEIGHT:  59kg

JOCKEY:  James McDonald

Mark Walker's comments below: 

Tell A Tale has been coming along well and he has drawn 2 out of 10 on a good track.  Stable jockey James McDonald will take the mount.  I am pleased with him heading into this race as his work has been good this week and he has done well.  I have elected to make some significant gear adjustments taking the blinkers and the nose band off him.  James should be able to position him well in the field from the good barrier draw if he jumps well, we have jumped him out of the wooden gates and he has done it fine so hopefully he doesn’t give the field a head start on Saturday.  It is a good even field, he looks in very good order so with a bit of luck in the running he should be a strong each way chance.