Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) runner-up Antrim Coast will contest the Gr.2 Alister Clark (2040m) at The Valley on Saturday. Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images)
He beat all but glamour filly Orchestral in the Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) at Ellerslie earlier this month and now Antrim Coast will be given his chance to test his talent across the Tasman.
Bred by The Oaks Stud, the son of Roc De Cambes races in the blue and white silks of farm principal Dick Karreman, for whom he has been a standout in his three-year-old year.
Under the care of Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh, Antrim Coast has won two of his seven starts this term and secured black-type with his Derby performance.
The Oaks Stud General Manager Rick Williams was rapt with his second placed run in the Ellerslie Classic and said that gave the Cambridge-based team the confidence to press on for an Australian campaign.
“It (NZ Derby) was a really honestly run race,” Williams said. “We all knew the filly (Orchestral) was better than the rest of us, but I was so pleased that he found the line well. I think ultimately he will be a two-mile horse.
“He has bounced through the Derby. We gave him a week off at the farm and he put on so much weight, he certainly hasn’t come to the end of his campaign – he is made of steel this horse.”
Antrim Coast will fly to Melbourne this week ahead of making his Australian debut at The Valley on Saturday in the Gr.2 Alister Clark (2040m), with his performance dictating the remainder of his Australian campaign.
“Saturday will work out how we plan his races from now on and whether we go to South Australia or Queensland. We will get a line on where he sits in the pecking order over there,” Williams said.
“Subject to his run on Saturday, we will find a couple of races for him. He is a horse that can handle Heavy tracks right through to Good tracks.”
– LOVERACING.NZ News Desk