Alysha Collett is hoping to sign off from New Zealand racing for the time being with a Group One win.
Collett will return to Singapore for a 12-month stint after a brief return home for a Christmas holiday.
She has a solid book of rides at Thursday’s Ellerslie meeting including Orakei Overlord in the Group One Zabeel Classic for Shaun and Emma Clotworthy.
Collett rode Orakei Overlord in work on Monday morning and also rode another of her Boxing Day mounts, two-year-old debutant On Display, for Danny Walker.
“Orakei Overlord is a big, staying type and he felt good,” Collett told NZ Racing Desk.
“I don’t know much about him, apart from him winning well last start, but he worked nicely.”
Orakei Overlord began his career in New Zealand with trainer Patsy Riley and was placed in two of his three starts before heading to Melbourne where he won four provincial races for Ballarat trainer Patrick Payne.
He joined the Clotworthy team in August and won over 2200m last start.
On Display has shown promise in two trials leading in to Thursday’s Stella Artois 1100. After a third in his first trial, over 800m at Te Aroha earlier this month, he won decisively over 800m on the same track 13 days later.
“He looks my best ride, but he’s got a real bad barrier draw (12). It’s hard from out there, especially for two-year-olds,” Collett said.
Two of her other mounts, Mumms Jewel and Final Suggestion, are prepared by Chris Gibbs and Michelle Bradley who operate from the Ruakaka stables established by Donna Logan, now a successful Singapore trainer and a strong supporter of Collett.
“It has been going well for me in Singapore,” Collett said. “I’ve been getting plenty of rides and Donna has been really supportive and so has James Peters.
Collet rode 11 winners during her latest stay in Singapore stint.
She ended her first stint in Singapore on the injured list as a result of a fall at Kranji in October last year.
Collett suffered serious damage to her L1 lumbar vertebra and a fractured right heel and underwent surgery in Singapore to have metal rods and screws inserted to stabilise her lumbar region.
She did not begin riding again until July in New Zealand and returned to Singapore a few weeks later.
Collett says she has no after-effects from the injuries.
