Weight can’t stop Lad
BRING on Great Northern race day at Ellerslie.
On Saturday the bulk of Great Northern aspirants got through their final dress rehearsals for the big day in a fortnight and the racing was excitement-plus.
First-up an outstanding field contested the Harrison Lane Hurdle (3350m) in preparation for the $125,000 Great Northern Hurdle (4190m) on September 9.
What a contest the hurdlers provided and the steeplechase combatants followed suit two races later with Amanood Lad winning the Pakuranga Hunt Cup.
The evergreen 13-year-old once again showed his love of Ellerslie setting a metric weight-carrying record winning the race for the third time and cementing favouritism for the Northern.
‘‘He’s done it in style, he loves Ellerslie,’’ said trainer Paul Nelson.
The Hunt Cup was a wonderful display of steeplechase racing with six of the nine-strong field in contention as the field sped down the Ellerslie hill for the last time.
Jockey Aaron Kuru had Amanood Lad purring along throughout the race tucked right behind the speed the entire journey.
Being handy to the pace had him in the right spot when the acid was applied and he established a break on runner-up Wise Men Say which he maintained to the line with Tizza Secret and Ngatira Gold next home.
The first two home will be the first two favourites when the $125,000 Great Northern Steeplechase over 6400m comes around.
‘‘He put his best foot forward today,’’ Kuru said. ‘‘We all know what he can do.’’
This winter has been a revelation as a steady stream of accomplished hurdlers have joined the open ranks.
The fledgling careers of Monarch Chimes and El Corby have unfolded in tandem, the sole difference being that Saturday’s vic- tor Monarch Chimes is unbeaten in three outstanding hurdle races while El Corby has had five goes for three wins and two seconds.
When Monarch Chimes crashed through the last jump on Saturday and went down on his nose, it seemed he was about to taste a jump race defeat for the first time.
His recovery to fight back and win was nothing short of remarkable.
He lost all momentum and El Corby lodged what appeared a winning challenge.
Jockey Shaun Phelan kept his cool and Monarch Chimes mustered all his reserves of energy and courage to regather himself and charge to victory by half a-length from El Corby.
‘‘What a horse,’’ Phelan declared. ‘‘It was a different league today and obviously he he proved he should be there. He tried hard today.’’
Emme-Lee and David Browne train the horse for David and Sue Fullerton and former All Black Trish Dunell Kit Fawcett.
‘‘He’s measured up to what we thought of him and what Shaun thought of him,’’ Emma-Lee said. ‘‘And there’s no reason not to have a go at the Northern.’’
Unfortunately a three-day suspension for his ride on Monarch Chimes will rule Phelan out of Great Northern day.