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滿綵售予蘇利雲轉戰紐西蘭勝出一級賽，未知上手馬主王生是否感到後悔呢！
A once retired stallion defied the odds to claim a Gr I victory on Saturday reports TIM RYAN.
Pure Champion's racing days were done and dusted when his Hong Kong owner decided to call it quits on his successful career.
A Gr III winner and Gr I performer in his native Ireland and in Hong Kong, Pure Champion's form had tailed off in Hong Kong but an astute jockey felt there was still some spark in the stallion's ageing legs.
''A jockey up in Hong Kong said to my brother, Paul [who trains in Hong Kong], that he had heard he had a brother training in New Zealand and suggested Pure Champion might have a future down here and that's pretty much how we came by him,'' his Matamata co- trainer Lance O'Sullivan said.
O'Sullivan and his training partner, Andrew Scott, along with O'Sullivan's family members and fellow owners, his wife Bridgette, and parents, Dave and Marie, will be forever thankful to that nameless jockey.
On Saturday at Hastings the handsome son of Footstepsinthesands beat the best New Zealand has to offer when winning the $200,000 Gr I Windsor Park Plate at Hastings.
''It's a fantastic thrill for all the staff at Wexford Stables, Andrew [Scott] and the family,'' O'Sullivan said.
''He was retired when we got him and Andrew has pretty much done everything with him so all credit to him.''
Scott, according to O'Sullivan, has built a strong affinity with the quirky eight-year-old stallion.
''You've got to be right on your game the whole time with him,'' Scott said.
''When he arrived he was a real handful so I sought some advice from Casey Dando who has a lot of experience with handling stallions and that gave me a few ideas because I hadn't had much to do with stallions.
''Now I've got the trust factor with him.''
Scott rides the entire in nearly all his pacework and heading into Saturday's race was unsure what to expect.
''He kept getting stronger and stronger in his work and I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing - I didn't know what to expect.''
A strong third in the Gr I Makfi Challenge Stakes at Hastings three weeks ago behind I Do, Pure Champion enjoyed a good run behind the pace on Saturday and he let down strongly in the straight to account for I Do, who covered ground from a wide gate.
Soriano came home strongly to cut Sacred Star out of third.
''It was a wonderful ride by Craig [Grylls] and we wanted him to hold his ground coming into the first corner with the speed coming from the outside and that's exactly what happened,'' O'Sullivan said.
Scott was also high in his praise of Grylls.
''His ride won the race,'' Scott said.
''Craig deserved that simply because of all the hard work he puts in at the training track, not only for our stable, but other stables as well. He's the first jockey at the track in the morning and the last to leave.
''He rides Pure Champion in all his fast work and the horse has come to know that Craig is the boss.''
Pure Champion will return to Hastings on October 4 for the 2040m Gr I Livamol Spring Classic.
The O'Sullivan and Scott partnership also won the day's feature sprint with honest and capable gelding, Whosyourmaster, given a masterly ride by Hayden Tinsley under 59kg.
''With that weight on his back it was always going to be a big ask but he's such an honest and versatile horse,'' Scott said.
Bred and raced by Danny and Judy Moss the son of Captain Rio and Peace Of Mind has now won six races and nearly $160,000.
- Additional reporting NZ Racing Desk.
- Waikato Times
[ 本帖最後由 19977 於 22/9/2014 08:26 PM 編輯 ]
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