Tavistock rewards Campbell at his second chance

JOHN COWPLAND/Sunday Star Times.

FAITH: Andrew Campbell was rewarded for his faith on Saturday when he made the call to send Tavistock back into the ring after the horse was badly beaten in the Futurity Stakes.

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Andrew Campbell was rewarded for his faith on Saturday.

The Wairarapa trainer made the brave call to send Tavistock back into the ring after the horse was badly beaten in the Futurity Stakes in Melbourne a fortnight earlier.

Tavistock had been booked to return to New Zealand the day after the Futurity but Campbell believed the horse deserved another chance and the result was victory in the A$300,000 Group II Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington.

The win was worth A$182,000 in stakes as well as boosting Tavistock's stallion potential and earning the four-year-old a trip to the Sydney.

Tavistock finished second last in the Futurity but Campbell decided he might have been too easy on the horse leading into the race.

"I felt as if we still had some unfinished business," he said yesterday. "He had a good blow after the Futurity and I might have been a bit light on him.

"He had had a hard run in the Waikato Sprint [at his previous start] and then a big trip to Melbourne, so we tried to keep him a bit fresh and possibly had him too fresh.

"We knew he was a better horse than he had shown and pushed a bit of work into him [after the Futurity].

"His work on Tuesday was the best I've seen from him and I was confident he could win on Saturday. He has also been on the water-walker each day and has just loved it."

Tavistock has been based at Peter Morgan's stables at Whittlesea, about an hour out of Melbourne. "It's an unbelievable setup," Campbell said. "There's a 2000m track on the property and Tavistock is out in a paddock all day.

"It's like going from the backpackers, at my place, to the Ritz."

Tavistock settled back in the Blamey but produced a big finish for Cambridge rider Jason Waddell, to beat Vigor and the $2.10 favourite Dao Dao.

"It was a great thrill and nice to get some Aussie dollars coming our way, after the Aussies have been grabbing our big races recently," Campbell said.

Tavistock, who has had only 17 starts, has now earned around $650,000 and will probably get two chances to add to his earnings at the Sydney carnival.

He will have his next start in the A$400,000 Group I Ryder Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill on April 3 and will probably stay in Sydney for the A$300,000 Group I All-Aged Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on April 24.

The Ryder is on the same day as the Group I Storm Queen Stakes (1500m) for fillies and mares and Campbell is hoping that Futurity Stakes winner Typhoon Tracy will take the easy option, against her own sex, in preference to the Ryder.

Campbell has done a fine job with Tavistock who began the season as a two-win horse. The Montjeu entire has won four of his 10 starts this term, including two Group I wins, and Campbell considers the four-year-old has yet reach his physical peak. "He's still not a fully mature horse."

Tavistock has had only one start past 1600m, when unplaced in the Kelt Stakes (2040m), but is expected to cope with a middle distance as a five-year-old.

He will be spelled after his Sydney campaign with the long term target being the Melbourne spring carnival and a possible tilt at the Cox Plate.

"We really want to get that Group I win in Australia," Campbell said. "He will probably have one run in New Zealand in the spring and then go straight to Melbourne."

- © Fairfax NZ News