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Full Noise by SN
Important update on 1476AMWetter the better for Didham pair
Joshua Smith, LOVERACING.NZ News Desk • April 26th, 2026 1:48 pm
Candle will contest the Otago Painting Solutions (1200m) at Wingatui on Monday. Photo: Race Images South
Aylesbury trainer Richard Didham is licking his lips as winter racing draws closer.
While many Kiwis are dreading the cold and wet months ahead, he said a couple of his runners will thrive on the more forgiving footing, including Candle and Speed Dial, who will head to Wingatui on Monday in search of a rain-affected track.
Initially planning on starting the pair closer to home at Riccarton on Saturday, Didham changed tack when he looked at the weather forecast, with clear skies predicted in Christchurch in the days ahead of Riccarton’s ANZAC Day meeting, while rain was expected on Sunday and into Monday further south.
Didham duly changed course and he is particularly looking forward to lining up five-win mare Candle in the Otago Painting Solutions (1200m) after she was beaten by the barest of margins at Ashburton last week.
“She was massive in defeat last start, I thought she actually got the bob,” Didham said. “She ran second behind a pretty nice horse in Champagne Diblu.
“She has won on a Heavy track before and that is why we have opted to have another go at Wingatui because there wasn’t much rain in the forecast for Riccarton.”
Candle will jump from barrier two and will carry 59kg with the utilisation of apprentice jockey Alan Lai’s two-kilogram claim.
“She gets back a wee bit but it is a small field so she shouldn’t have too much traffic troubles,” Didham said.
Lai will also ride stablemate Speed Dial in the Otago Engineering 1500, and Diham said the five-year-old mare will also thrive on the rain-affected footing.
“She won on a Heavy10 at Oamaru last year and then she won on a Soft7 at Kumara,” he said.
“It is an open handicap, but the top rater is only rated 80, so she gets in really well, and with the claim she is down to 52 kilos.”
While looking forward to racing both of his Wingatui contenders into winter, Didham is also looking forward to welcoming back Red Star Rhonda ahead of her four-year-old term.
While the daughter of Super Easy remains a maiden after seven starts, she has made a big impression on Didham, who crossed the Cook Strait with her last month to contest the Gr.3 Manawatu Classic (2100m) at Trentham.
While she disappointed when beating just one other runner home, Didham said she will benefit from time in the paddock and he is looking forward to seeing what she can do in the spring.
“She disappointed up there (Trentham), but she is just spelling at the moment, and she will come back a really strong four-year-old by the time she is ready to go,” he said.
