Down The Road scored impressively at the Taupo Racing Club meeting

10/10/2008

Matamata trainers Ken Kelso and Thomas Russell continued their flying start to the current racing season when promising three-year-old Down The Road (Danroad x Dixies Girl) scored impressively in the final event at the Taupo Racing Club’s meeting on Wednesday.

Down The Road is the fourth success posted by the new training partnership from only nine starters this season.

Co-trainer Ken Kelso said he has a very big opinion of Down The Road.

“I really rate the horse and think he’s going places this season,”  said Kelso.

“He is nominated for the Levin Classic in November and will head towards that all going well,”  he said.

“I will sit down in the next few days and map out his next race. We could get a bit more ambitious with him fairly soon,” Kelso said.

“It was a very good effort from him to win at Taupo,” he said.

Down The Road was purchased for $36,000 from the New Zealand Bloodstock Carnival Yearling Sale at Karaka last year. The gelding is raced by the Homebush Partnership which is managed by bloodstock agent Bruce Perry.

Down The Road is the ninth individual winner from only 16 runners to date for his sire, Danroad, who stands at Highview Stud, near Hamilton.

Last season Danroad sired the highly-rated 2yo, Rockdale, who won the Group 1 A$500,000 TJ Smith Classic (1600m) at the Brisbane winter carnival.

Rockdale will line up next in this Saturday’s A$1 million Caulfield Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield racecourse in Melbourne.