Fannin and Big Opal sparkle
JUMPING gem The Big Opal completed a top day at Te Rapa for Shaun Fannin and Kevin Myers when he turned in a sparkling display to win the Waikato Steeplechase.
The eight-year-old showed he is going to be a force to be reckoned with in upcoming winter features when he led all of the way to reign supreme in the 4000m marathon yesterday.
It was the second success on the card for defending jumps jockeys’ premiership champion Fannin after he had guided the Myers-prepared Highly Likely to his maiden jumping win in the Neil Treweek Steeplechase.
The Big Opal has now triumphed in five of his seven starts over the big fences and showed his quality last term with a runaway victory in the Koral Steeplechase before he was the beaten favourite in the Grand National Steeplechase.
‘‘Things went wrong there when the saddle slipped,’’ Fannin said. ‘‘He can go on with it now though, he’s top class.’’
The Big Opal had his rivals stretched out after a circuit on Saturday before Joking, who subsequently fell at the last fence, closed the gap 800 metres from home.
‘‘He’s the sort of horse that you don’t realise how far in front you are.
‘‘I had a look over my shoulder down the back and they were a long way away. When he heard that other horse coming he got his second wind and he was strong to the line, he’s done a tremendous job.’’
The Big Opal had three and a half lengths on Mr Mor at the line with Fair Script third and the winner’s stablemate and Palemo a distant fourth.
Joking and his jockey Caroline Kennedy came through their spectacular crash without suffering injury.
Kennedy fell forward and was stuck by Joking.
Meanwhile, Sam Spratt’s confidence in progressive filly Blue Shadow at Te Rapa was not misplaced.
Spratt fancied her chances of toppling a competitive field of threeyear-olds over 1200m and so it proved.
Trained by at Cambridge Graeme Hughes, Blue Shadow was a one and a quarter length winner.
‘‘She’s a really nice filly and that was a pretty good field,’’ Spratt said.
Meanwhile, a Te Rapa game plan for Thenamesbond was executed to perfection by jockey Will Gordon for the pair to earn major honours in the Waikato Hurdles.
The hardy jumper was urged to put the pressure on his rivals a long way from home in the PJR Porritt Sand-sponsored feature by the gelding’s rider and that proved the winning of the race.
‘‘I wanted to get the others off the bit a long way out and turn it into a real staying test,’’ part-owner and trainer Stephen Ralph said, explaining the tactics.