Crowd favourite Nashville delivers
ONE: How good was Nashville?
Summing it up in two words: Very good.
The now nine-year-old Nashville had 60kg on his back for Saturday’s Group III estar Winter Cup on a holding heavy 11 but finished the race off like a sprinter on firm ground.
Nashville, trained by Adrian and Harry Bull, came from near the back of the pack to pick the field up with ease and win by two and a quarter lengths.
A two-time Group I winner and four-time Group I placegetter, Nashville always had the class and motor to win the $100,000 race but the way he did it with his hefty handicap left much of the Riccarton crowd marvelling at his performance.
A former Coupland’s Bakeries Mile and Canterbury Gold Cup winner, Nashville has been a crowd favourite at Riccarton since winning his first race at the Canterbury track way back in 2011.
The only thing that could match Nashville’s blistering speed was the composure of apprentice jockey Kate Cowan who summed up the race perfectly in just the tenth winning ride of her career.
TWO: delivers Catch call Cross
Matthew Cross was handed a late call-up for the biggest meeting of his young commentating career at Riccarton on Saturday and the 23-year-old thrived under the pressure.
Cross was scheduled to be working as a presenter at Riccarton but got the call-up when Mark Mcnamara was unable to recover from a dose of the flu. Cross, who has continuously impressed despite his young age, was preparing to call the first race at Addington on Friday night when he was given the news he would be behind the binoculars on the opening day of the Grand National Carnival.
In just his third full meeting at Riccarton and calling his first Group race in the thoroughbred code, Cross’ accurate and colourful calls were another example of why a long and successful career is ahead of him.
THREE: Stewards continue to crack the whip
Racing Integrity Unit stewards continue to keep a close eye on jockeys’ whip use.
Five jockeys, including Winter Cup heroine Cowan, were fined for excessive use of the whip at Riccarton on Saturday with one also landing a suspension.
Cowan admitted a charge of excessive use of the whip for her winning ride aboard Nashville and was fined $300. Parvesh Shaikh admitted the same charge for his ride aboard Dynamic in race six.
He was fined $300 and suspended from August 13 to the close of racing on August 25 but would only miss one South Island meeting.
Apprentices Sam Weatherley, Jacob Lowry and Timothy Johnson were also fined after they admitted a charge each of excessive use.
Weatherley was fined $300 for his ride on New York Minute in the Winter Cup and Lowry and Johnson were each fined $250 for their rides on Londonderry Air and Al Munroe in race nine.
Jumps jockeys Will Gordon and Stuart Higgins were spoken to regarding their whip action because they had raised their arm above shoulder height. There were no whip charges from Saturday’s Te Rapa meeting.
FOUR: White Robe Lodge flag flying high
White Robe Lodge stallion Raise The Flag has been flying high in recent months and Saturday’s Flemington quinella was another massive boost for stud and stallion.
Former Kiwi Yogi just pipped stablemate Chequered Flag in the A$120,000 1 Oliver St Plate for rating 78 stayers over 2500m.
The Darren Weir-trained stablemates are both by Raise The Flag. Yogi has scored five wins and three placings from 10 starts since joining Weir in Victoria and has an exciting future ahead of him.
The likes of Parthesia (Listed Tasmanian Oaks winner), Yogi, Chequered Flag, Broadside, Ubin Thunderstruck, Golden Flag and Unfurl have all notched significant wins for Raise The Flag in Australia.
In the recently completed New Zealand season, Raise The Flag sired 17 individual winners for 28 race wins in New Zealand including Listed Gore Guineas winner Raise You Ten.
FIVE: Myers starts carnival in ominous fashion
Day one of the Grand National Carnival is done and it comes as no surprise to see Kevin Myers dominating the trainers’ statistics.
The Whanganui-based trainer won four of the 10 races and two of the three jumps races at Riccarton on Saturday. He has live chances in the Grand National Hurdle and Steeplechase and with a big team in Canterbury expect plenty more wins by the end of the week.
His 2016 carnival tally of four of the nine jumps races and nine of the 32 races overall looks to be under threat.