Ride to celebrate recovery
JASON Maskiell has ridden many winners at metropolitan meetings in Melbourne and for some very high-profile trainers and owners, but probably no win meant more to him than the one he landed in Launceston on Wednesday night.
Maskiell guided battling stayer Kingsclere to victory in a maiden-class one over 2100m in conditions that would have made the most hardened footballer cringe in the middle of winter.
In pouring rain Maskiell’s charge slogged it out over the final 300m to emerge triumphant by a narrow margin over race favourite Akbar Jay.
It was Kingsclere’s first win from nine starts and the one Maskiell was hoping to secure for one of the gelding’s partowners Matthew Stringer, who owns and operates the Queen’s Arms Hotel at Longford.
Maskiell was out of the saddle for about four years through an addiction to the methamphetamine ice and it was Stringer who took the rider under his wing with the hope of helping him recover to the point where he could resume his riding career.
Stringer employed Maskiell, which helped give him some purpose as he tried to find a way back to normality.
The talented young horseman delivered on his promise to beat the addiction and he renewed his licence this season and sits second on the jockeys’ premiership table with 11 wins.
Kingsclere is trained by Maskiell’s grandfather Ken Hanson in partnership with his daughter Tanya Hanson, so it was very much a family affair.
“I’ve been trying to win a race on this horse ever since I came back riding and to finally do it is an amazing feeling,” Maskiell said.
“I’ve ridden plenty of bigrace winners interstate but somehow this one seems to have more importance.
“Matt Stringer helped me regain some esteem because he believed in me, so to get him his first winner as an owner makes the win so sweet.
“That it’s trained by my Pop and Tanya is tremendous because Pop hasn’t been well and it will give him a lift.
“I don’t know whether the horse has many more wins in him, but he tries his heart out and you can’t ask for more.” THE star of Wednesday’s meeting was apprentice Chris Graham, who landed a treble.
Graham partnered two winners for his master Adam Trinder in three-year-old filly Need a Margarita in a 1400m maid- en and Anastasia, which won a maiden over 1200m at her first start in the state.
Graham capped the night by guiding the John Blackertrained Gallow Gate to victory in a benchmark 62 handicap over 1600m, which made it consecutive wins for the fiveyear-old gelding.
About 22mm of rain fell on the course during the night and despite the track deteriorating from a good 4 rating to a heavy 8, it still raced fairly, though the jockeys were glad when the eighth race had been run and won.