Aardie’s Express primed for Little Green Jug

By Joshua Smith, Harness News Desk

Promising filly Aardie’s Express will have her first southern hit-out when she lines-up in the “Lather Up” Little Green Jug 3YO Mobile Pace (1609m) at Methven on Sunday.

The daughter of Always B Miki won on debut at Cambridge earlier this month before it was decided she was better placed in trainers Steven and Amanda Telfer’s Canterbury barn.

“Aardie’s Express came down because she is mainly a left-handed horse and she will probably be aimed at the Oaks. She will have a go at qualifying for that,” Amanda Telfer said.

“Some go better left-handed than right-handed and it’s just easier down here with the left-handed racing.”

Aardie’s Express subsequently joined Telfer’s Swannanoa barn and while she was initially set to have a trial, her conditioners have elected to send her to Methven instead.

“She has travelled down well,” Telfer said. “We were going to take her to the trials but that race popped up so we thought we may as well do that instead of trialling her.”

Telfer is looking forward to testing Aardie’s Express on the grass for the first time.

“She has only had the one run and she is a little bit inexperienced. She does have a little bit of ability so we will just see what Tim (Williams, driver) does with her,” Telfer said.

Telfer is also looking forward to lining up Mr Perfect in the Hygain Revell Douglas Memorial Series Mobile Pace (2300m).

The gelding has adjusted well to South Island racing, running third in his first southern outing at Addington Raceway last week.

He previously won at Otaki, and finished runner-up at Tauherenikau and Cambridge, and Telfer said he is a prime example of the perks of having a dual-Island stable.

“Mr Perfect was just running around at Otaki before he came down. He ran a nice race at Cambridge, but he went good at Addington last week,” she said.

“He is an honest wee fella. Carl Markham has been driving him and he reckons he has gotten a little bit better since he first came down.

“The draw (14) is not ideal, but we will have to work with it.

“I reckon he will run a nice race. He has got a good driver (Mark Hurrell) on him and I will just leave it up to him.