Jochen Rindt roars in Cup
Jochen Rindt drew the pole position in Saturday’s Taumarunui Cup at Rotorua, roared to the lead and powered to victory.
Named after the late Austrian formula one champion driver, Jochen Rindt gave nothing else a look in, winning the $50,000 Listed feature by 11 lengths.
Pump Up The Volume ran second.
The others floundered in at intervals on the very heavy ground, with five lengths to Second Innings, another 11-lengths to Perfect Start and eight lengths to the favourite Katie Mckeen.
Trainer Terry Wenn was on duty at Rotorua undertaking his clerk of the course role.
He watched the race unfold from the saddle of his grey mount stationed at the top of the home straight.
‘‘When Jochen Rindt went past me I thought he was going pretty good,’’ Wenn said. ‘‘I had to stand up in the stirrups to see if he hung on.’’
Wenn reckons he was in such a hurry to catch up with jockey Samantha Collett as she returned on the winner that he joked he ’’passed a couple of the tail-enders’’ on his way to lead the victors into the birdcage.
He was happy to congratulate Collett on ‘‘a perfect ride’’ and reflect on a well laid plan.
‘‘This was the race we set him for when he first came back into work for this campaign,’’ Wenn said.
Another part of the plan was for Collett to jump, lead and hug the rail from barrier one.
‘‘He can shave the rail and get on a good strip of ground that has hardly been used,’’ Wenn said.
‘‘He’s got a high cruising speed and can maintain it and he loves a fight.’’
Collett was having her first ride on the horse but got an insight riding him in trackwork during the week.
There are no grandiose future assignments, a $30,000 open handicap at Te Rapa in a fortnight his next mission.
‘‘We’re a little bit limited - he needs a left-handed track so that rules out anything at Ellerslie.
‘‘The Taumarunui Cup was the aim and anything else is a bonus. Each year he’s got a little bit better but he’s only had 24 starts so there should be plenty of life in his legs yet.’’
To add variety to the Ishiguru 6-year-old gelding’s training, Wenn gets top jumps jockey Michael Mitchell to pop him over a few hurdles.
There are no plans to try him over the jumps on race day despite being a qualified hurdler.
‘‘It could be a second string to his bow one day, in the meantime a bit of schooling now and again is good for his training.’’
Bred by Wenn’s partner Mandy Walters, Jochen Rindt is raced by the couple in partnership with long-time stable client Don Grayling.
He has won five races for them and banked over $70,000.
Another easy winner at Rotorua was exciting prospect El Pescado who gave his regular jockey Cameron Lammas his 600th career win.
The opposition was moderate quality but El Pescado, a rising 6-year-old raced by his breeders Frank and Faye Drummond, was in a class of his own.
If trainer Stu Manning gets the chance, he would like to test El Pescado in the first Group I race of the new season, the Makfi Challenge Stakes.
The problem is that a rating of 93 might see El Pescado struggle to make the cut for the August 27 feature.