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Bigger is best for jumper; Prize mount for the taking; Sydney move a lucrative one; Kiwis triumph in Macau; Substitute plays it cool
Bigger is best for jumper
Promising jumper I’ll’ava’alf will make his next hurdling appearance at Te Rapa later this month.The six-year-old has placed in all three of his starts over the smaller fences, but he is expected to be even more effective in a different role in the future.
“He’s going well and it will be next year that steeplechasing will be his go,” Matamata trainer Karen Fursdon said.A five-time winner on the flat, I'll'ava'alf finished third over hurdles at Hastings at his most recent outing.
Prize mount for the takingThe ride on the New Zealand-bred and owned Criterion in the Gr.1 Juddmonte International Stakes is up for grabs.
Chad Schofield had the mount when the four-year-old ran fifth in the Gr.1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, but commitments in Hong Kong will prevent him from taking the ride in next month’s feature at York.Criterion’s co-trainer David Hayes is currently holidaying in Europe and he will shortly take time out for a first-hand check on the stallion’s condition.
Sydney move a lucrative oneDan O’Leary’s decision to send his Gr.3 Hawke’s Bay Cup placegetter Sir Mako to Chris Waller has proved a masterstroke.
The Marton horseman’s punt on his lightly-raced seven-year-old has already paid off to the tune of nearly $A100,000.Sir Mako took his Australian earnings to just shy of the six figure mark when he won at Rosehill at the weekend to go with an earlier Randwick success from three Australian appearances.
Kiwis triumph in MacauNew Zealand jockey Andrew Calder has guided a Kiwi-bred gelding to his first black type victory in Macau.
Calder combined with Savabeel’s son Bobo So Cute to win the Listed Lisboa Challenge at the weekend.The winner of seven of his 11 starts, the three-year-old was a $40,000 weanling purchase at Karaka in 2012.
Substitute plays it coolFormer jumps jockey, on-air commentator and now International Sale manager Mark Richards filled a new role for the Hong Kong Jockey Club in bizarre circumstances on Sunday.
A power failure left lead commentator Brett Davis stranded in a lift, along with steward Margaret Leung, and unable to call the Pak Sha O Handicap.Richards drew the short straw to take over the duties behind the microphone for the first time in his life and kept a cool head to call Righteous the winner in a tight finish.