The son of Squamosa caught the eye on debut at Camperdown, breaking his maiden by an impressive eight lengths. Freedman has had high hopes for Tararua, who returned a much more furnish product following an Autumn spell. Unfortunately this preparation has not been all smooth sailing, with some minor niggles and relentless rain forcing the team to re-plot Tararua’s return to the races.
“He was disappointing first up with excuses and then was really good second-up whilst not handling the track. As a stable, we thought he was ready to improve back onto a firmer surface and be really competitive.” Jordan Childs shared Mitch’s thoughts, stating post-race “he just did not handle the surface last time (at Bendigo) so racing on a firmer surface, he was pretty dominant.”
Back in the winner’s circle and full of confidence, Freedman feels Tararua will measure up to Friday night grade at Moonee Valley and mid-week grade in time. “It’s an exciting time of year to have a progress sprinter, with plenty of options including the 955 challenges at Moonee Valley, with great prize money on offer.”
Tararua’s victory was Freedman’s first winner of the 2022/2023 season after a frustrating run of placings. There are a number of progressive horses back at the jump outs and returning to the races within the month, in what looms as an exciting Spring for the stable.
