Hoop eyes treble

BY AIDAN RODLEY

Michael Coleman will seek to embellish an enviable Ellerslie riding record tomorrow.

The evergreen Matamata jockey landed a milestone 250th Ellerslie winner, when he kicked home Hamilton sprinter De Los Angeles on the New Zealand Derby undercard last Saturday.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Coleman went on to land the Listed Westbury Classic at Obsession last Saturday and he has plans to add to his tally with a handy book of rides tomorrow, including Veloce Bella in the Gr I $200,000 New Zealand Stakes (2000m) and Elle Tresor in the Gr I $200,000 Diamond Stakes (1200m).

Coleman, 40, has a long way to go until he reaches the heights of Lance O'Sullivan (403 wins), David Peake (392) and Grenville Hughes (352) at Ellerslie but he's happy to keep adding to his score on one of his favourite tracks.

''It's a pretty good record on the premier track in New Zealand. We'll just keep trying to build on it,'' Coleman said at Ellerslie this week.
''You do get to know the track and what you can do and what you can't do. But you've got to have a decent horse to win around here because most of the races are on big days and they get good fields.

''Coming here, you know you are coming for a decent day and that does give you a boost but in many ways it's no different to anywhere else really.''

Coleman gained his first Gr I win at Ellerslie as a 17-year-old apprentice in 1987, when he guided Field Dancer to success in the Easter Handicap for his boss Jim Gibbs.

A week later he returned to Ellerslie for his second Gr I win, on the same horse in the TVNZ Stakes.

Coleman will bid for his 26th Gr I win at racing's elite level in the very same race tomorrow, when he teams up with Veloce Bella, a mare who provided him with his most recent Gr I win in the $200,000 Darci Brahma International Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa last month.

Coleman was left puzzled after she under-performed when finishing a well-beaten ninth in the Listed Stanley Group Trac Stakes (2000m) at Matamata last start but he wasn't about to rule her out of bouncing back to her best tomorrow.

''We don't know what happened at Matamata. She just had an off day and had a muscle tying-up problem,'' Coleman said.

''She worked all right yesterday [Tuesday] and seems to be going all right. When she turns it on, she can beat anything, but she can make life a bit tough being a backrunner.

''It's a good race and it's drawn a good field but hopefully she'll run well. She's won at all levels now and beaten the best horses in the country on her day and she's definitely up to winning.''

As well as Field Dancer, Coleman won the New Zealand Stakes on Xcellent in 2005 and he has his fingers crossed that the Mark Brosnan-trained Veloce Bella can continue a memorable Auckland Cup carnival for the stock of Volksraad - the sire of Derby winner Military Move and of Wednesday's Sunline Vase winner A Chance To Dream - and complete his race treble.

''On a good day, she's got a big motor but on other days you don't what's happening. You've just got to keep the faith and hope for the best,'' he said.

Nine of Coleman's 25 Gr I winners have come at Ellerslie but he hasn't won an elite level race there since guiding Rags To Riches to Easter Handicap success in 2006.

His other big race Ellerslie wins are the Railway Handicap with Cannsea in 2000, the Auckland Cup through Our Unicorn in 2001, the New Zealand Derby twice through Cut The Cake in 2003 and Xcellent in 2004 and the Diamond Stakes [formerly known as the Ellerslie Sires' Produce Stakes] in 2001 with Kapiston and in 2006 with Jokers Wild.

Coleman teams up with the Keith and Brendan Hawtin-trained Elle Tresor in a bid to win a third Diamond Stakes tomorrow.

He had been the regular rider of the Kevin Gray-trained Cellarmaster, winning both the Gr III Eclipse Stakes at Ellerslie and the Listed Wentwood Grange Stakes at Te Rapa, as well as finishing second in the Gr II Wakefield Stakes at Trentham in his three rides on the horse but connections have opted to stick with last start jockey Opie Bosson, who finished third on the colt in the Gr III Taranaki 2yo Classic at New Plymouth last start.

Te Awamutu hoop Craig Grylls rode Elle Tresor into fourth place in the Gr II Matamata Breeders' Stakes last start but has plumped for last start Matamata Slipper winner Nacho Man.

''She went well in the Matamata Breeders' Stakes but she hasn't been helped by the barrier draw,'' Coleman said.

Among his other rides, Coleman continues his association with the Graeme and Debbie Rogerson-trained De Los Angeles, his milestone horse from last weekend.

''He's a pretty exciting horse on his day and he'd have to be a chance again,'' Coleman said.

''He can certainly gallop but he's had a few foot problems. He'd pulled his shoes off in his last two runs before Saturday. He managed to keep them on on Saturday but he's got rough feet and that might hold him back from being a better class horse.''

Coleman currently sits 13th on the jockeys' premiership with 39 wins from 259 rides at a strike rate of one win every 6.64 rides, placing him in the top five in that category of the top 50 riders.

His record is better than it reads considering he spent two months sidelined with chiefly leg injuries after a serious fall from Altered Image in the Gr I Mudgway Stakes at Hastings in August last year.

''I've had a reasonable season, especially after losing two months at the start of it,'' Coleman said.

''It's ticking over all right. My record is looking all right and my strike rate is good. I've got a Gr I on board so I can't complain too much.''

- © Fairfax NZ News