From Phillip Quay
Sunday Star Times
13/12/2009
Matamata trainer John Sargent says a patient approach will need to be maintained to give New Zealand's most exciting stayer, Passchendaele, her best chance of winning next year's Auckland and Melbourne Cups.
That is why Sargent will resist the temptation to race the Montjeu four-year-old at the Ellerslie Christmas carnival despite her latest brilliant victory – a resounding 2 1/2-length win in the $100,000 Waikato Times Gold Cup at Te Rapa yesterday.
"She will be going straight to the paddock now for a spell," Sargent said. "The City of Auckland Cup at New Year is tempting but we have bigger goals in mind next year.
"The Auckland Cup is going to be worth a million dollars," Sargent said. "She hasn't run the two miles yet, but the way she races points to her getting the trip.
"I have never had a Melbourne Cup runner but I think she will be my first next year. She is the best staying mare I have trained."
Within the space of a golden hour yesterday, Sargent also posted wins with Kiwi Hussler at Te Rapa and Dawn Ghost at Awapuni, but undoubtedly Passchendaele's Group Two success in the hands of Mark du Plessis was the most special for him.
It represented back-to-back wins in the Waikato Cup for Sargent after he won the race last year with Lovetrista.
"She has shown real talent right from the start of her career and still has plenty of scope to improve."
Passchendaele, the winner of five of only nine starts, is owned by her breeders, David and Elizabeth Olsen, who have raced a number of well-performed gallopers including Passchendaele's dam, Classic Babe and Flying Babe, whose wins included a $1m two-year-old race at Te Rapa.
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