Cathedral Cove heads the field for the Tararua Alliance Stayers 2100 at Woodville on Thursday and stands out as the horse to beat after flashing home for second behind stablemate Echezeaux over the same distance at Awapuni last Friday week.

After being with the tailenders, the Zabeel gelding wound up a half-head from victory and ran the quickest last 600 by almost a second.

“We think Echezeaux could go through to Group company next season and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cathedral Cove do the same,” said co-trainer Stephen Autridge.

“Echezeaux will have one more start at Hastings (on Saturday week) then go out for a spell and come back for some of the good fillies and mares races next season.

“I can see Cathedral Cove going through the grades. He’s a four-year-old and he’s only had three starts. He has just needed time.”

Autridge says Cathedral Cove had shown little to get excited about in his work and early trials, but that all changed when he won at the Matamata trials a couple of months ago.

“He’s just jumped out of the ground really,” said Autridge. “Until he won that trial we didn’t know what we had. Michael McNab rode him in that trial win and he put a big rap on him.”

Cathedral Cove went on to win his debut over 1900 metres at Wairoa with McNab in the saddle then finished fourth when backing up three days later over 2100m with Alysha Collett aboard.

McNab was back in the saddle last start, but stable jockey Matt Cameron takes the reins at Woodville.

The Autridge – Richards stable has three other acceptors at the Woodville meeting and all are rated chances by Autridge. Carmenize and Niamh Elizabeth will clash in the Dannevirke Dairy Supplies Maiden Dash, while debutant Royal Success will start in the Power Farming Manawatu Maiden Sprint.

Carmenize has been placed in each of her last three starts and Niamh Elizabeth was placed twice last campaign and goes into the Woodville race with a recent trials second to her credit.

Royal Success, a three-year-old son of Savabeel, has been placed in each of his four trials, the most recent effort a second at Avondale earlier this month. The winner of that Avondale trial was Standing In Line, who went on to win on debut at Dargaville last week