Baldwin hoping Kiwi Puntura can win before returning home

By Glenn Davis

Trainer Barry Baldwin is hopeful of snaring another win with in-form sprinter Puntura before the five-year-old returns home to New Zealand later this year.

Puntura has won two of his past three starts and will again be ridden by Mark Du Plessis in the Doomben Mile at Doomben on Saturday.

The son of Our Vespa won at the Sunshine Coast and Doomben before a last start second to the Tony Gollan-trained Tokoriki Lad over 1600 metres at Eagle Farm on August 13.

Baldwin expects Puntura will return to his former Kiwi trainer Robbie Paterson after one or two more starts in Queensland.

Puntura came to Brisbane with stable mate Coventina Bay for the TAB Queensland Racing Carnival and they were stabled with Baldwin.

While Coventina Bay returned home to New Zealand, Puntura's connections decided to keep him with Baldwin to train.

Puntura won four consecutive races for Patterson in New Zealand before crossing the Tasman but it was later found he had a breathing problem while in Queensland.

“We took him to the Sunshine Coast, where he beat a weak field, then he went bad at the Gold Coast at his next start,” Baldwin said.

“I had him scoped on the following Monday and he was in hospital at Gatton on the Tuesday.”

Baldwin has credited Puntura’s form resurgence to his throat operation.

“He had a tie-back and it’s been very successful,” Baldwin said.

“In the old days they weren’t as successful then as horses were laid on a table while they tied back part of the throat then they were rolled over to complete the operation.

“Nowadays, the operation is done standing up and it’s three times more successful.”

Baldwin expects another strong showing from Puntura but he is unsure of his next outing.

“He’ll only have one or two more runs here before he goes back to his previous trainer in New Zealand,” Baldwin said.

“We were hoping to run him in the Murwillumbah Cup but you have to qualify for that so he won’t be going there.”

Baldwin rates Tokoriki Lad and the Chris Munce-trained Jetty as the main threats to Puntura, who is chasing win number eight at his 18th start.

Jetty has won five of his 24 starts including an all-the-way win in a 1400 metre Class 4 at the Sunshine Coast in July.

The five-year-old son of Jet Spur - Jetty - then finished third behind Tokoriki Lad and Puntura at Eagle Farm on October 13 before a last start third on a heavy track behind Aussie Nugget in a 1630 metre Class 6 on September 3.