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Dennis holds strong hand at Wingatui
Joshua Smith, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk • September 30th, 2026 3:20 pm
The Princie One will contest the Nellies Wine Bar & Restaurant (1200m) at Wingatui on Friday. Photo: Tayler Strong (Race Images)
Robert Dennis will take one more than a baker’s dozen to Wingatui on Friday, and the Ascot Park trainer is favoured to return home with a handful of winning cheques.
The 14 runners make up nearly half of Dennis’ racing team, and he is hoping for a strong outcome on Friday following a trying last few months in the deep south.
“We have had a very trying winter and early spring, it has been terribly wet, hence why this meeting has been moved to Wingatui,” he said.
“Our team have been putting in the hard yards day in and day out, getting the horses worked and looking after them. They have been fronting up, and the horses have been running well lately.”
Dennis currently has a handful of favourites for the eight-race card, including The Princie One, who leads three stablemates in the market for the Nellies Wine Bar & Restaurant (1200m).
The five-win mare will be first-up, and Dennis is hoping for a bold showing as he looks towards New Zealand Cup Week with the daughter of Savabeel.
“She is going to take a stack of improvement from the run,” he said. “How will she cop a really heavy track is a big question mark, but we need to get the show on the road with her and try and have her fit and ready for Cup Week.
“We are eyeing up the Pegasus (Listed, 1000m) and Stewards (Listed, 1200m). We will keep our options open and gauge it as we go.”
The Princie One will be met on Friday by stablemates The Hangover, Sir Sterling and Magnastar.
“The Hangover profiles well for this race,” Dennis said. “He has got a nice, light weight (55.5kg), and he goes a good race fresh. He seems to thrive in the Heavy and he appears to be in good order. He could be a reasonable chance there.
“Sir Sterling is back from the Winter Cup (Gr.3, 1600m) where he had a heart fibrillation. In an ideal world, he would have ran two weeks ago at Gore and be running over the mile this Friday. Gore was off, so he is here over 1200m, but he will be competitive. He is always there or thereabouts, and that weight relief (3kg) should bring him right into it.”
“Magnastar is rock-hard fit, he has been up and racing very consistently in reasonably competitive fields. He goes well at Wingatui over 1200m. He could be a cheeky one lower in the handicap.”
Time Test mare Smiling Eyes has pleased in her two starts this preparation, winning first-up over 1200m at Oamaru last month before runner-up over 1400m at Riccarton earlier this month, and will tackle Friday’s Grand Casino (1600m).
“We saw the noms for the open mile that she is in and thought she would be competitive there, so we opted for that instead of the 75 1400m,” Dennis said. “She gets a nice, light weight (54kg) and Yogesh (Atchamah) stays on board, he knows her well. She has put in two top runs, and she seems to have trained on well since. Her form has been franked, Hakkinen only beat her by half a length or so and he has come out and won again.”
Five-year-old mare Santita has been faultless since joining Dennis’ barn at the start of the season, winning both of her starts, and Dennis is hoping she can extend her southern unbeaten record to three on Friday in the More FM (1400m).
“She has done no wrong since she has come down to us,” Dennis said. “She gets a good bit of weight relief with Tom Wigram on. She won over the course and distance two starts ago and she seems to really thrive on the Heavy going. It is a step up in grade from 65 company, and there are a couple of handy enough horses in here, but she should be a good chance again.”
Dink heads the market for the Otago Engineering (1400m), but Dennis thinks stablemate Marcus Attillus is also a handy chance fresh-up.
“Dink handled the step up to 65 grade well last time at Timaru,” Dennis said. “She was left being the chaser for the runaway leader and only just got nutted for second in the last few strides. Up to 1400m I think is going to help, she won’t have to burn so much gas early. Three kilos off with Tom (Wigram) on is going to help as well. She won in really heavy going at Wingatui two starts ago, but I am not convinced that is ideal for her, but she obviously gets through it okay.
“Marcus Attillus is fresh-up and is a lovely, big, strong gelding. He has shown good ability. He has been in work for a while and he should be fit enough and ready to rock and roll first-up.”
Ace High gelding Hammer won convincingly on debut at Oamaru last month and Dennis is hoping he can measure up to rating 65 grade on Friday in the KB Contractors (1200m), for which he is a $3.90 equal favourite with Ripa Time.
“Hammer did a few things wrong in his maiden win and he was pretty green,” Dennis said. “He has still got plenty to learn, and that might find him out, but he has trained on very well since. He is looking more and more like a racehorse week-to-week. He has really gone the right way. It will be a question how he gets on on a really heavy track, but he is a handy enough horse.”
While The Princie One is on a path towards black-type targets at New Zealand Cup Week in November, she won’t be the only stable runner heading north to Canterbury over the coming weeks, with three-year-old fillies Midnight Oak and Wise Dancer also on the hunt for stakes success.
“Midnight Oak was an impressive winner at Timaru last week and she might have a crack at the Barneswood (Gr.3, 1400m),” Dennis said.
“Wise Dancer was pretty good first-up as well for second. She might have a go at the War Decree (Gr.3, 1400m).
“We will have a throw at the stumps with two fillies like that and if they foot it with those good three-year-olds, we will press on, otherwise we will pull stumps and look to summer and autumn with them.”
