Wyong-based trainer Kristen Buchanan will line up the former Kiwi mare Princess Rihanna in the Benchmark 78 over 1000m at Royal Randwick this Saturday, but it wasn’t always going to be the case.
Originally sent to Australian shores to breed, the New Zealand galloper missed her opportunity which has prompted her connections to race on here and look to add some further black type.
The seven-year-old has built up a solid record across the ditch, placing in the Group 3 Gold Trail and finishing fourth in the Group 1 Sistema Stakes, the Group 2 Breeders Stakes and Group 3 Eclipse Stakes, whilst also winning five races and over $150,000 along the way.
The Showcasing progeny has been allotted a benchmark rating of 84 for her Australian debut, which would see her start as top-weight in this weekend’s contest, and Buchanan sees the race as a stepping stone for brighter things to come.
“She obviously brings good from from New Zealand, but she has only had one trial for me on our home surface here at Wyong,” Buchanan said.
“She will take a lot of benefit from whatever she does on Saturday, and hopefully we can get some Australian black type on her pedigree down the track which will certainly add some value to her broodmare status.”
Buchanan has made an impressive start to the 2021/2022 season training 13 winners (18%), 18 placings (42%) and a further 18 top fives (67%) from just 73 runners, also claiming three Midways since its inception.
“It’s been a great start that’s for sure, but you’re only as good as your last winner so we are always looking forward,” Buchanan said.
“We’ve got some handy youngsters coming through, including a daughter of a Group 2 winner that I used to train, Two Blue. Hopefully we can continue the good run and keep rewarding our owners.”
With 30 horses in work, Buchanan embraces any advantage she can get her hands on and is a big advocate of Etrakka technology. This provides her with real-time data such as how a horse is working, peak speed, heart rates, length of stride and recovery rates.
“I come from an Exercise Physiology background so having access to this information is vital to planning a horse’s preparation,” Buchanan said.
“It’s helped me peg if a horse is a sprinter, middle-distance or staying type and just gives me a bit of an extra insight into how the horse is feeling at any stage of the campaign.
“It’s a competitive game and any edge you can have is a plus.”
