Invercargill trainer Nathan Williamson has freshened Dark Horse and reset his sights on an autumn campaign with the promising trotting mare.
The form of the five-year-old appeared good in the spring before a disappointing performance in the Dominion Handicap, but Williamson was never really happy with her.
Dark Horse resumed with a track record win off 60m at Forbury Park in October despite no lead up trials and was then third at Addington before rattling home for fourth in the NZ Trotting Free For All on Cup Day.
She drew 14 that day and impressed enough to be sent out third favourite for the Dominion, but she made no headway from the rear of the field and beat only breaker Wilma’s Mate home.
“I was happy enough with her performances going into the Dominion but I wasn’t happy with the way she was trotting and steering and her manners generally,” said Williamson.
“The best version of Dark Horse would have performed a lot better to be honest.
“She threw us a bit of a curve ball in doing that because she hadn’t been like that in the past.
“We made a couple of last ditch changes for the Dominion but they made no difference, so we decided to spell her and start again.”
Dark Horse had three weeks out and has been back in for about six weeks and is not far off trialling, but Williamson is in no hurry with her first real assignment being the Group 3 Southern Lights on March 10.
Then she has the 4&5YO Trotting Championship at Addington at the end of March and the G1 Trotting Championship a week later.
An Auckland campaign aimed at the ANZAC and Rowe Cups in April is then a possibility but is far from certain at this stage.
“She’s not the most fluent trotting right-handed and while we’re doing a bit of work on that now as it is in the back of the mind, she would need to improve in many respects to warrant it.
“Really we’re just pottering around with her at the moment in an effort to get her trotting right and performing to her best ability.
“You worry about that first before worrying about much else.”
Dark Horse has won nine of her 20 races and the best of her was seen at Addington in June when she came off 20m to romp home by four lengths in the $40,000 Uncut Gems Trotters Classic.
