Hastings barn hold strong hand at Pakuranga Hunt meeting

Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougall have a great association with the Pakuranga Hunt meeting, and they are hoping that will continue on Sunday at Te Aroha.

The Hawke’s Bay trainers were rapt to take out the Grand National Hurdles (4200m) with 12-year-old gelding Suliman earlier this month, and they are hoping he can make it back-to-back prestige jumps titles in the Pakuranga Hunt “Vale Lamu” Hurdle (3100m).

“The wet and loose track just played into his hands down south. He has come through the race well, he is very bright,” Nelson said.

“He is there and has done it before. It will be interesting to see what the new horses on the block do.”

He will be joined in Sunday’s contest by stablemate Taika, who was victorious in last year’s running at Te Rapa.

Taika won his opening hurdle race of the year in May but was pulled up in the Waikato Hurdle (3200m) and was unplaced in the Hawke’s Bay Hurdle (3200m), with those performance leaving him out of the stable’s contingent that headed south for the Grand National Festival of Racing earlier this month.

He lined up on the flat over 2200m at Arawa Park a fortnight ago to ready for this weekend’s assignment, but his trainers are wary that he hasn’t had a hurdle start for over a month.

“We will do our best (to defend his title),” Nelson said.

“He seems to be pretty good. There haven’t been any races for him for a while, that’s the trouble.

“With the National coming in we didn’t want to take everything down there so we had to take what we could get.”

Stablemate Nedwin is also a previous victor of the Pakuranga Hunt Hurdle, but he has switched focus to the bigger fences this year and will be out to complete the Pakuranga Hunt set when he contests the Howden Insurance Pakuranga Hunt Cup (4300m).

“It would be nice (to complete the set),” Nelson said.

Nedwin finished third in the Grand National Steeplechase (5600m) at Riccarton earlier this month and Nelson believes the step back in distance will suit his 11-year-old on Sunday.

“At this stage, a bit less distance might suit him, so Sunday’s race should be more up his alley,” he said.

Champion jumper The Cossack will also contest the Pakuranga Hunt Cup, where he will be looking to recapture form of old, having won the race two years ago at Te Rapa.

Nelson is pleased with The Cossack’s condition heading into the race but is mindful of his topweight of 72kg in the twilight of his career.

“He is very bright, but it is coming to the end of his career,” he said.

Maiden hurdler Skaw Valley will also head to the meeting where he will contest the opening race of the nine-race card, the Phelan Racing Maiden Hurdle (3100m).

“Skaw Valley has been disappointing, but he went well for Dean Parker before we took him down south,” Nelson said. “I am hoping Dean might be able to talk to him a bit on Sunday.”