Six pack for Oulaghan
‘‘He’s a freak.’’ That’s how Shaun Phelan summed up the abilities of Awapuni trainer Mark Oulaghan following his sixth Grand National Steeplechase victory.
The Oulaghan-trained Upper Cut ($6.90) has gone back-to-back in the race with a 11⁄4-length victory in the $75,000 Prestige race at Riccarton yesterday.
Upper Cut’s 2016 victory in the race gave Oulaghan the outright record with five wins and the 2017 success has given him a two-win buffer in the history books over Ken Browne and Brian Anderton who both hold four wins.
Oulaghan’s previous victories came with Deecee Seven in 1997 and 1998, Counter Punch’s dual wins in 2010 and 2011 and Upper Cut in 2016.
Upper Cut beat home a courageous Kina Win with a further 91⁄2 lengths back to Tai Ho in third for the 143rd running of the Grand National Steeplechase.
The 2017 preparation has been an interrupted one for Upper Cut after he missed a run when the Wellington Hurdles was transferred to Hawke’s Bay.
‘‘I was a little bit apprehensive whether had he enough miles under his belt with missing a run but as he proved he is tough enough to do it,’’ Oulaghan said.
‘‘They’re tough horses the Yamanin Vital’s. If they’re in striking distance they seem to tough it out and that’s basically what he did today.’’
Upper Cut was fourth behind The Big Opal in last Saturday’s Koral Steeplechase.
‘‘He had to improve a lot to win today but you can just put all your trust in Mark Oulaghan and look what happens,’’ Phelan said.
The horse was not even fit enough to run in last week’s Koral Steeplechase (4250m) so to win a 5600m race a week later was an absolute credit to Oulaghan, Phelan said.
‘‘He still didn’t feel like he was 100 percent fit today, he’s just an unreal horse with an unreal trainer.’’
Upper Cut’s victory gave the now deceased White Robe Lodge sire Yamanin Vital a Grand National double following on from Ready Eddie’s Hurdles victory on Wednesday.
Phelan, who settled midfield on the rail, was concerned that he was not going to catch the leading pair of The Big Opal and Upper Cut’s stablemate Paddy Owen around the 1400m mark but he said the proven toughness at the distance got his mount home.
Phelan hugged the rail all the way home and Upper Cut had too many punches up his sleeve for Kina Win on the flat after they took the final jump together.
Upper Cut was Phelan’s second win in the race. He won the 2014 edition aboard Eric The Viking. ‘‘These are the races you live and dream for,’’ he said.
He watched Upper Cut win the 2016 Grand National, when ridden by Australian jockey Paul Hamblin, on TV because a punctured lung, suffered when he fell from Tom’s Myth in the 2016 Wellington Steeplechase, prevented him from flying to Christchurch to watch the race live.
Oulaghan races Upper Cut with Aroha Duncan, Jim Speedy, Michael Ormsby and Warren Scott.
It is essentially the same syndicate that raced Counter Punch.
Race favourite The Big Opal led for much of the race but faded out of contention with 350m to run.
Oulaghan said it was unlikely Upper Cut would head to the Great Northern Steeplechase but it was not totally out of the equation.
Heading back to Riccarton in 2018 was a possibility but Oulaghan said with Upper Cut being an 11-year-old he would not be planning ahead at this stage.
Meanwhile, it was only fitting that one of the first hugs of congratulations Jo-Ann Gordon received was from Tommy Beckett.
Gordon had just won the $40,000 Winter Classic (1800m) at Riccarton with an almighty fight back from The Gordonian and Beckett had just watched his classy mare Miss Three Stars race for the final time.
The Southland duo both train out of Ascot Park.
The Gordonian ($26.90) looked to be beaten when Doiknowyou clearly headed him following a brave effort from the Gordon-trained runner but somehow, he climbed off the canvas to come again and win by three-quarters of a length.
Even Gordan had resigned herself to a second place finish.
Despite the tough display Gordon had just seen from her nine-year-old son of Remind, she put the credit for the victory with North Canterbury apprentice Krishna Mudhoo.
‘‘That boy has never ridden 53kg in his life so to see him riding with that much aggression was very impressive.
‘‘He wanted to win as much as the horse,’’ she said.
When The Gordonian was handicapped at 53kg, Mudhoo assured Gordon he would cut off a few body parts if he needed to so he could make the weight.
‘‘Thankfully he told me in the birdcage before the race that he didn’t have to do that,’’ Gordon quipped.
The Gordonian’s fight back was a bitter blow for Te Awamutu trainer Ben Ropiha and the connections of Doiknowyou after the Kashani eightyear-old also ran second in last week’s Winter Cup.
Miss Three Stars was her usual brave self on an unsuitable sticky track and stuck on for fifth.
She retires to stud with 11 wins for more than $300,000 in stakes. Ten of those wins came with Sam Wynne aboard.
Miss Three Stars will be best remembered for her 2016 Group III Winter Cup victory.
‘‘We’ve loved every minute of it,’’ Beckett said of Miss Three Stars’ career.
‘‘She’s been such a great horse. She’s very special to us.’’