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Horse racing - Source: Photosport -
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Cambridge trainer Shaune Ritchie has confirmed that the fitness of the Keeper three-year-old filly, Keep The Peace, has improved out of sight in the past week and she is right on target for her tilt at the Group 1 $300,000 Wellfield New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham next Saturday.
Ritchie said Keep The Peace had not been 100 per cent right when she finished a game second in the Lowland Stakes (2100m) at Hastings on March 6.
"But that race did her the world of good and I feel a lot happier about her fitness heading towards the Oaks than I was a couple of weeks ago," said Ritchie.
Prior to that Keep The Peace suffered a serious injury when she copped bad interference in the Sir Tristram Fillies' Classic at Te Rapa in February. "She pulled up lame after the Te Rapa race after she suffered a pinched muscle and it took her a while to full recover from that," Ritchie said.
Keep The Peace is currently the $4 favourite for the New Zealand Oaks. She has won three of her seven races to date including the Group 3 Desert Gold Stakes at Trentham in January and finished a game second behind Katie Lee in the Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton last November.
Ritchie has enjoyed a wonderful season already as the trainer of New Zealand Derby winner Military Move and New Zealand Cup winner My Scots Grey.
Interestingly Ritchie always rated Keep The Peace as having more ability that Military Move.
"I have always thought that Keep The Peace is the best horse in my stable," he said.
There is a question mark over Keep The Peace's jockey in the Oaks. Her regular rider, Jason Waddell, has been suspended but is likely to lodge an appeal which would enable him to keep the Oaks ride.
Keep The Peace's sire, Keeper, is standing at a fee of $15,000 plus gst at Cambridge Stud this year.
Keeper is already the sire of the Group 1 winners Insouciant, Keepa Cruisin and Linky Dink and has a total of 23 individual black type performers.
