All dressed up with somewhere special to go, Australia's in form Gr1 Winning Sprinter ATOMIC FORCE spent Wednesday in the paddock before being groomed and dressed in his travel gear and loaded onto the horse float at 5:30pm and driven to Sydney Airport to board his flight to Auckland.
Traveling with ATOMIC FORCE on the aircraft was experienced horseman, stable foreman and track rider, Shane Treweek who has reported that Atomic Force arrived safely and calmly and was then floated down to his temporary stables south of Auckland.
ATOMIC FORCE in his travel gear. Note that his hooves are bandages as well as the bell boots over the hoof walls and the leg boots to ensure he is protected on the truck and in the box on the plane. He has special rugs travelling with him to ensure his comfort whatever the weather. As can be seen he has a glow in his coat and is rock hard fit.
ATOMIC FORCE looked superb before boarding the truck from Darren Smith's Newcastle Stables. His trackwork was up to the mark since winning his trial last Thursday and is sure to start favorite on New Years Day.
When he arrived at his stables he went straight to his feed tin and licked it out and drank plenty showing he took no ill effects from the trip. He has had an easy day today with a walk to familiarise himself with his new surrounds. He will have some light work in his new surrounds on Friday. Shane Treweek reported the horse to be happy and bright.
From an Aussie pride perspective, ATOMIC FORCE is heading over to NZ to attempt to restore some pride in Aussie sporting prowess against the Kiwis, tarnished lately by the Wallabies losing to the All Blacks in the World Cup semi finals and the outstanding win by the Kiwis of the 2nd Cricket Test recently in Hobart.
The pressure is on for ATOMIC FORCE to turn around the sporting drought and attempt to restore some lost dignity.
Leading Sydney jockey NASH RAWILLER is as keen as ever to head across the ditch and partner ATOMIC FORCE.
Certainly the horse is fit and well and targeted to be at his peak in 10 days times. He appears well placed in the Railway Stakes Gr1 under the Set Weights and Penalties conditions. Rated 109 in Australia and 115 on the International Rating System, ATOMIC FORCE in NZ has been rated at just 105, which is a blessing of 2.0kgs under his Australian Benchmark Weight. He is rated 6 points (3.0kgs) above his nearest rivals.
Our main concern is the 1200m trip with him being a specialist at 1100m, however he has won 3 at the trip and he is a lot better now as an older horse, far more mature and stronger. We have no concerns that he will run the 1200m right out.
A strong performance in the Gr1 Railway may convince the ATOMIC FORCE management to stay in Kiwi land to have a crack at the Gr1 Telegraph 21 days later. However if in doubt, he will head to the paddock for a well deserved break. That decision will be made 48 hours after the Railway.
Trainer Darren Smith will head over after Christmas to guide Atomic Force through the final stages of track work whilst Dean and Fiona will also head over to ensure things go smoothly in the lead up to the race and hopefully in post race celebrations.