No excuses for Joy Anna this time in black type at Ellerslie
The Iffraaj four-year-old will take aim at the Listed Hallmark Stud Handicap (1200m) at Ellerslie off the back of Rating 65 and Rating 85 victories.
“She’s always showed a lot of ability, she won her second trial by six lengths, but she has been a bit weak and we’ve had to look after her,” trainer Mark Blackie said.
“She’s quite tough and has got the right attitude for a sprinter.”
Joy Anna has won two of her three starts at Ellerslie and she had a genuine excuse for her only defeat on the country’s premier track.
“She ran in the Soliloquy Stakes last season and finished on three legs,” Blackie said.
“She sprained a fetlock joint and was lame when she came back into the birdcage. She had ricked her shoulder as well so she had six months in the paddock.
“She came back from that for another preparation, but she was suffering from a bit of asthma and coughing so she was turned out again.”
Blackie also credits his relocation as a key to Joy Anna’s progress.
“I moved to Tauranga and she can work on the beach, I couldn’t have done that at Cambridge,” he said.
Joy Anna was a determined last-start winner with that performance showing Blackie that she had turned a significant corner.
“That was the first time that she has really hit out right to the line,” he said. “We’ve had issues with her feet over the last 12 months and that’s come right now, she’s way more comfortable.”