Grey gelding Chattahoochee has been a stable favourite for trainer Debbie Sweeney for some time and he is quickly taking the mantle as the stable star as well.
At Hastings on Saturday the son of Reliable Man recorded his fourth win from his last five starts in the Tumu Supplies Premier (1600m), and Sweeney believes there are plenty more wins left in the five-year-old.
Chattahoochee winning at Hastings on Saturday. Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images Palmerston North)
“It was very impressive considering he drew barrier 12 and he was three-wide the whole way. It was a tough effort,” Sweeney said.
“Chattahoochee is like the stable pet. He is just a lovely, quiet and relaxed horse - everyone loves him. He is very spoilt and that was even before he was fast.
“He has won four from five now, so he has been very impressive. He has been very adaptable, and I think he is a horse that has a lot of ability. Hopefully he can carry on with it.”
Chattahoochee will now head for a well-deserved break before being set for some loftier autumn targets.
“We are going to turn him out for four to six weeks now and then get him back up and going around early March,” Sweeney said.
“We’ll possibly look at the Easter Handicap (G.3, 1600m) and there are some nice races over the Carnival at Ellerslie, so we will try and target some bigger races.”
Sweeney has swiftly turned her attention to racing this week where she will line-up a handful of runners.
“I have got a couple at Tauranga on Wednesday – Kiwi Man and Mr Nice,” she said.
“Kiwi Man showed a fair bit of promise last year and is a staying horse. He is going over a mile on Wednesday and once he gets over ground I think he will be a horse to keep an eye on.
“Clever Ruds is lining up on Saturday (at Te Rapa). She is very honest and tries really hard. She ran second last time at Hastings. Hopefully we can get some black-type with her this time around. She has shown enough.” – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
