Rae runners impress with Ashburton double
Richard Edmunds • October 11th, 2025 5:14 PM • 3 min read
Riccarton trainer Terri Rae flexed her potential New Zealand Cup Carnival firepower with an impressive double in $50,000 open handicaps at Ashburton on Saturday.
Rae saddled Spot On Time for a stylish first-up victory in the GD Jones Salute (1200m), then Sir Albert followed suit 35 minutes later and took out the McCrea Painters & Decorators Ashburton Cup (1600m) by two lengths.
It was a welcome return to winning form for Sir Albert, who won six of his first 14 starts including five from nine in his four-year-old season, but had subsequently gone winless in nine starts dating back to March 2024.
He showed promising signs with his first-up run at Timaru on September 7, where he ran second and was beaten by a nose by Richard Stomper in the Remembering Grey Way (1600m). Rae then took him to the Riccarton trials for a three-length win on September 29.
It all pointed to a bold showing on Saturday, where Sir Albert was sent out as a $2.10 favourite.
Jockey Bruno Queiroz took up an ideal position in sixth along the rail, racing right alongside the second favourite Cognito.
While Cognito came wide around the home turn to stake his claim, Queiroz saved vital ground and drove Sir Albert through a gap one off the rail.
The favourite burst through between Bella Luce and Master Marko, taking command and putting the race to bed under a hands-and-heels ride.
“I was very confident with him today,” Queiroz said. “The instructions were to put him in midfield until the straight, and they said he would have a good finish. The last 200m, he really flew home. He’s a good horse and I think he will improve from this win today.”
Sir Albert is nominated for the Gr.3 TAB Mile (1600m) on the middle day of the Cup Carnival on November 12, for which the TAB now rates him a $14 chance. That makes him a leading local contender in a market headed by North Island raiders Tardelli ($6), Arabian Songbird ($10), Cannon Hill ($10) and Churchillian ($12).
Sir Albert was bred by Waikato Stud, whose principal Mark Chittick remained in the ownership after the son of Savabeel was passed in during the 2020 National Weanling Sale on Gavelhouse Plus. From a 24-start career, Sir Albert has recorded seven wins and seven placings and has earned $219,350.
His stablemate Spot On Time collected the sixth win of his enormously promising 11-race career with his smart open sprint victory on Saturday. He was ridden by Vinnie Colgan, who was caught three wide in the early part of the race but was then able to slot into fourth on the outside of La Bella Nera.
Colgan pushed the button in the straight and Spot On Time drew up alongside Illicit Dreams and stuck his head in front. That rival refused to give up without a fight, with Third Decree chiming in late in the piece, but Spot On Time found enough to edge them both out by a long neck.
Spot On Time boasts an outstanding record at Riccarton, where his four starts have produced three wins including a four-length runaway in the Wuhan Jockey Club Premier (1400m) on the final day of the Cup Carnival last year. His only defeat there was a third placing last September, where he was beaten by a head and a half-neck. He can be expected to make his presence felt during the South Island’s three biggest thoroughbred racedays of the year on November 8, 12 and 15.
