Andrew Carston left Riccarton a happy man on Wednesday after bringing up a winning double as well as a handful of placings.
Oh No No No made a winning start from the Carston Stable. Photo: Riccarton Park Facebook Page
Oh No No No and Peut Respirer saluted while Peace Lover ran second and The Arctic Blast and Bad Flamingo both collected third placings.
Former Northlander Oh No No No joined Carston’s barn last month and he was pleased with what he saw from the Showcasing mare on Thursday when taking out the Grand National Tickets On Sale Now (1200m) by two lengths.
“She is a very nice horse that Ken Harris sent down not too long ago,” Carston said. "He still owns her with his partner Debbie.
“She has settled in well and she was pretty dominant today. I think she will train on and win another pretty quickly.
"I think she has been looking for a longer straight, it is 400m here at Riccarton.”
In the following race, stablemate Peut Respirer ran home late to score a long neck victory in the Speight’s Summit Ultra On Tap Maiden (1400m), with stablemate The Arctic Blast finishing third.
“I really like Peut Respirer,” Carston said.
“She has had a lot of issues. She is a reasonably well-bred mare that we lease of Rich Hill Stud. The owners have been very patient, she showed a bit early on then had a few issues.
"She went really well on the poly last year, so I was confident going back to the polytrack.
“She has taken a couple of runs to get fit, but it was a good win and Kozzi (Asano) rode her really well.
"Overall it was good day and the team went well.”
Carston is a fan of the polytrack and said it allows him to ready his team for spring racing over the winter months.
“I am a big believer in the poly, I won’t let anyone bag it,” he said.
“It has been a godsend for us Riccarton trainers to be able to work our horses and have them ready for the spring.”
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