Sweynesse switch a silver lining for Jaarffi

An abandoned meeting is never an ideal starting point in a new campaign, but trainer Lance Noble is looking on the bright side as he prepares Group One-winning mare Jaarffi (NZ) (Iffraaj) for her delayed return to racing in Saturday’s Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes at Ellerslie.

Originally scheduled for Rotorua last Sunday, the 1215-metre Sweynesse was set to be Jaarffi’s first start since finishing fourth in the Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes on March 7. However, a horse slipped just after the finish line in the third race of the programme, causing the rest of the meeting to be abandoned. As it happens, the horse that slipped was Sovrana (NZ) (Reliable Man), who – like Jaarffi – races in the Cambridge Stud colours and had Warren Kennedy in the saddle.

“It was a bit of a wasted float trip, which wasn’t ideal, but these things happen,” Noble told RaceForm on Tuesday. “You’d hate for it to be your horse that slipped and possibly fell over and hurt itself.

“Jaarffi has got a lot better with travelling these days, and going to Rotorua and back in the truck probably isn’t all that different to a gallop, which she would have done on the Saturday morning anyway.

“It’s great that they’ve been able to reschedule the race for Ellerslie this Saturday. We’re not losing the black-type race, which is so important. And if there’s an upside to it all from our point of view, having the race at Ellerslie will definitely suit her a lot better with the great record she has at the track.”

Jaarffi has raced only once before at Rotorua, finishing seventh in last year’s edition of the Sweynesse. In contrast, her 10 starts at Ellerslie have produced three wins and three placings, headed by a win in the Gr.1 Otaki-Maori WFA Classic and placings in the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic and New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes.

Noble gave a glowing report on the way Jaarffi is shaping up for her new campaign.

“She’s a lot stronger this year,” he said. “As a seven-year-old, I think she’s finally matured. She’s taken a while, but mentally and physically, she’s coming up the best this spring that we’ve ever had her.

“The plan is to follow a similar path to last year. We weren’t tempted by the early races. It’s not easy with mares like her in the early spring, and especially when it’s such a long season and you want to get them all the way through to March. We’ll look at the Auckland Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes next month and then head into weight-for-age racing around Christmas time.”

Noble is also pleased with his last-start Gr.3 Gold Trail Stakes runner-up Liguria (NZ) (Snitzel), who will line up in Saturday’s Gr.2 Windsor Park Stud Soliloquy Stakes.

“She ran a super race in the Gold Trail,” he said. “She was a bit fidgety in the gates, caught it on the wrong foot when they opened and probably ended up one or two spots further back than we might have liked.

“But the way she pushed her way out and really attacked the line, it was a good learning experience for her.

“We’ve been happy with her in between times. The three-year-old fillies are looking very strong, as usual, but she’s shown that she really likes Ellerslie, and I think that’s a big help for a young horse if they’ve been around there before and like the track.”

Noble’s other runners at Ellerslie on Saturday are State Of Valour (NZ) (Sword Of State), Mollify (NZ) (So You Think) and Showgirl (NZ) (Darci Brahma).

“We’re going back to basics with State Of Valour and dropping down to maiden company,” Noble said. “He didn’t have a long time off between two and three. We tried for a couple of early-season stakes races, which didn’t quite work out and he hadn’t really bloomed. We gave him a little break after Hastings and he looks a lot better in his coat now.

“He shows a lot on the training track and has run some good races in strong company, but he just needs to put it all together a bit more consistently. Again, he has a good record at Ellerslie.

“Mollify has come back nice and strong. She’ll need to get up to a mile and 2000 metres pretty quickly, but I think she can run a bold race over 1400 metres fresh.

“Showgirl was a good fourth on debut. It’s not easy up against older horses in these maiden races that have a bit of form in them, but she’s a filly we have a lot of time for. Whether or not it happens this weekend, we think she’ll go through the grades this season.” - Richard Edmunds (trackside.co.nz)