Bholah rides to his first NZ win
DARING frontrunning tactics paid off for apprentice Zubair Bholah when he won his first race in New Zealand on Flicka Of Gold at Wingatui yesterday.
The Mauritiusborn rider, who came to Wingatui via New Caledonia, could not keep the smile off his face after his charge bolted in by six lengths for trainer Steve Tyler.
Bholah let Flicka Of Gold roll to the front after they bounded out of the starting stalls in yesterday’s rating 65 race (1400m).
Flicka Of Gold was happy to stride along at a solid pace in front, and Bholah saw no reason to take the horse out of his comfort zone.
‘‘He jumped very fast and I didn’t want to break the momentum by pulling him back.
‘‘I know I can judge . . . pace because I won all of my races in New Caledonia going forward and they couldn’t catch me.’’
Bholah was given some encouragement before yesterday’s meeting by apprentice master and former top jockey, David Walsh.
‘‘Mr Walsh said to me you are going to win your first race in New Zealand today and I said yes, I will do it.’’
The 28yearold said getting his first win lifted the pressure that had been building up.
He arrived in New Zealand in February to start an apprenticeship with Tyler.
‘‘I am very happy and hopefully I can get more rides and more winners in New Zealand.’’
Apprentice riders dominated yesterday’s meeting, winning seven of the eight races.
Senior rider Chris Johnson stopped the sixrace winning run of apprentices that started from race 1.
It took the kind of Johnson magic that Savvy Coup’s connections are hoping he can produce in Saturday’s Cox Plate to stop the apprentices’ winning roll.
Johnson pinged Elegido out of the gates from barrier 9 before rating her perfectly in front, taking a 1400m maiden win.
The 5yrold ran to the line with her ears pricked for an easy win.
Johnson now leaves for Melbourne to prepare for his ride on Savvy Coup in Australasia’s premier weightforage race.
The jockey is taking a typically cool approach to the ride and the Michael and Matthew Pitmantrained mare’s chances.
‘‘It is hard to gauge [how competitive Savvy Coup will be] from over here.
‘‘The horses she is racing are all obviously pretty smart.
‘‘She will go her usual honest race and whether it is good enough, we will find out.’’
Wingatui mare Always On Call’s determination continues to upset punters, but you will not hear her connections complaining.
For the second time in her past three starts the Terry Kennedytrained mare stuck her neck out to determinedly win in rating 65 company over 1200m yesterday.
The victory came in the same circumstances as Always On Call’s win at Invercargill two starts ago — freshup from a spell and at blowout odds.
‘‘She did the same thing at Invercargill. She really stuck her head out that day to beat the second horse and there was more than six lengths back to the third horse,’’ Kennedy said.
‘‘Keeping her fresh seems to be working so I will keep her like that and try her again in another month.’’