Gelding chases Cleveland Bay glory Langhro on a victory quest
WATCHING on from the other side of the barriers, Georgie Holt can’t help but admire the work of new charge Langhro.
Her husband Aidan, who is in the saddle for the work, believes otherwise.
“He is quite nice to watch but he does have a few quirky habits, he pulls a bit hard in his work,” Holt said.
“Actually for Aidan in the saddle it could be a bit tough, he usually gets off him and gives him a spray. But for me on the ground it is great, he is very forward moving and he knows what he is here for.”
That moment comes on Friday when Bourke and her co-owners Ross Donovan and Peter Malpass set the eight-year-old gelding for the $65,000 Cleveland Bay Handicap.
It has always been the plan for the gelding by champion Darley stallion Lonhro, after he was bought in a private sale from the yards of Bourke’s training mentor Steven O’dea.
The Doomben master was the one who tipped Bourke and her owners off to the purchase, believing the veteran gelding would be a Cleveland Bay winner. A last-start win in Open company at Ipswich on July 18 was enough to seal the deal.
“We figured it was a good opportunity, even though he is already eight I think he has got plenty left in him,” Bourke said. “I did have him ready for the Mackay Newmarket and was ready to go but it is a home town thing, I wanted to save him for this race.
“He has had a couple of grass gallops since being up here and a jumpout in the middle. We have just kept him ticking over. He hasn’t missed a beat.”
The only thing standing in the way of the lightly raced gelding and his seventh win in the saddle is the fact he starting so wide that Bourke asked if they could just leave from Longboards on The Strand. Langhro drew barrier 21 and, even with emergencies getting scratched, he will only come as far in as 16. Bourke said it was now up to jockey Ryan Wiggins to navigate from the tough draw.
“We are running off The Strand, we will just have to play it by ear and trust Ryan to get him in a handy position,” she said. “He has good enough gate speed but it is going to be a task from this barrier. But his work has been remarkable, we can’t pick any flaws in him and we know he will be a competitor.”