Neeson thrives in south

Consistent galloper Neeson got his autumn campaign in the South Island off to the perfect start, when he stormed home to claim the $35,000 Hororata Gold Cup (1800m), at Riccarton yesterday.

Prepared by Stephen McKee from his Ardmore base, the O’Reilly six-year-old was having his first run since finishing midfield at Matamata last month.

McKee had trekked south with the gelding at this time last season, where he won one of his three starts, and was keen to follow a similar path, as he believes the 1800m contests at Riccarton are an ideal distance for his charge.

‘‘He tends to find 1600m a little sharp for him at this stage of his career and 2000m can be a bit too far, so he is a difficult horse to place,’’ McKee said.

‘‘Those 1800m races they run down there seem to suit him well so I spoke with his owners and we agreed to send him down.’’ McKee, who was at home watching the race after not being able to head south due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions, was tearing his hair out early in the piece, after Neeson dropped out to last, as pacemaker Camino Rocoso set a hot speed up front.

Rider Samantha Wynne didn’t panic and slowly made ground on the front runners, before moving to the extreme outside early in the run home. Eventual runnerup Diorissimo had charged to the front at the 300m, but Neeson produced a resolute finish to collar her in the final strides, with local runner Pinup Coup closing strongly for third.

Riccarton trainer Andrew Carston saddled Neeson on McKee’s behalf.