Ole Ole up for the Challenge

Ole Ole will contest the inaugural Platinum Homes Taranaki Challenge (1400m) at New Plymouth on Saturday. Photo credit: Race Images Palmerston North

Andrew Forsman has a high opinion of Ole Ole but he’s holding off on his chants of approval ahead of the inaugural Platinum Homes Taranaki Challenge (1400m) at New Plymouth on Saturday.

The Cambridge trainer races the stakes-placed Makfi three-year-old gelding with Auckland breeder Brett Wilkinson and is excited to have a runner in New Zealand’s richest special conditions maiden. But Forsman, who trains in partnership with Murray Baker, doesn’t share the confidence of bookmakers who have installed Ole Ole a $3.50 favourite for the race on the back of his comprehensive last-start maiden win at Woodville.

“He’s on the way up and we really only gave him that run to have him ready for this race so he would have taken a lot of improvement from that,” Forsman said.

“He scrambled around a bit and didn’t really like the ground. I was impressed with it because it wasn’t the weakest maiden you’d see either. But I’m not going into this race with high hopes.

“I just think the track will be too heavy for him especially against some of those older, more experienced ones.”

Track conditions at Pukekura Raceway were rated as heavy 11 on Thursday morning and while Ole Ole has now won on a heavy track and run second in the Listed Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Pukekohe on a heavy 10 track, it’s evident that he is a more potent racehorse on better footing.

“If he measured up here, we’d think about taking him to Sydney for races like the Gloaming Stakes and Spring Champion Stakes,” Forsman said.

“We think he’ll get up over ground and back to his own age group, he’ll be competitive. But this opportunity came up and he’s definitely worth having a go with.”

Ole Ole will race in the slot of Sir Patrick and Justine, Lady Hogan, who offered Forsman and Wilkinson a partnership deal when they didn’t have a horse of their own for the race, which is run under sweepstake-type conditions similar to Australia’s The Everest but for horses who were still in maiden grade at the beginning of June.

“It’s a good concept and to have a chance in it is exciting. The horse is in good form anyway and I’m looking forward to it,” said Forsman, who came into the ownership after stable owner Wilkinson approached him about taking a share when Ole Ole was still a yearling.

“Brett wasn’t taking him to the yearling sales and he asked me to come and have a look at him and it’s worked out that I’m racing half with him. It’s worked out well. We’ve had a lot of fun so far.”

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