It’s such a Perfect day for Georgie
JUST when Georgie Bourke thinks exciting sprinter Airacobra had reached his peak, the gelding finds another gear.
The six-year-old was unstoppable in the Benchmark 69 Handicap (1000m) at Cluden Park yesterday, bursting out of the gates before kicking clear in the straight to win by almost 2½ lengths.
But it was the horse that gave him a slight nudge at the turn that would prove to be the big winner, with Bourke’s old-timer Perfect Knowledge finishing a gallant second to his stablemate.
Almost 12 months to the day since Bourke and partner Aidan Holt decided to retire the 10-year-old galloper, he returned to his home track in a massive way.
It was a performance that sent the grandstand into raptures as Bourke celebrated her first stable quinella.
“We have tried a fair few times, so glad to have it finally pay off,” she said.
“It is pretty exciting after all the hard work you put in, there is no better feeling.
“(Perfect Knowledge) has been retired for no reason other than just his age, all he has wanted was to come back in.
“He has been excited to be back, and we’re happy to see him put in this run.”
For Airacobra, it was his third win in five starts, and a bounce back to the top after finishing midfield among open company in the NQ Amateur Sprint Handicap (1200m) last start.
Bourke was far from disappointed with his last-start effort, and suggested all he needed was a good gate, which he got yesterday.
“He is one of those horses, you think you have got him 100 per cent, and then he comes back and works even better than last time,” she said.
The instruction was to ride him just off the pace behind the race leader and get an easy run into the straight, but winning jockey Ash Butler said it just wasn’t an option after an impressive start.
“Instructions were to not lead, but once he jumped in front I didn’t have much choice,” he said.