Emphatic win points to Grand National Hurdles
IT is not just the Champagne that needs to be ice cold when Saturday’s Otago Hurdles winner, The Energizer, steps over fences again.
The progressive hurdler’s getbackandwindup racing style mean his jockey and those supporting him need to have icecold nerves.
Rider James Seivwright had exactly that and produced a perfectly timed finish on the Kelvin Tylertrained hurdler to win Wingatui’s feature jumping race on Saturday.
He also had a bit of help from The Energizer himself, as the horse decided it was time to work into the race in the back straight.
‘‘Down the back he really wanted to get into the race and he started pulling me into the race,’’ Seivwright said.
‘‘He was a bit slow out the gates. He likes to be out the back anyway, so it took me a while to get into it. He really won it well.’’
The Energizer strode to the winning post untouched to signal he is in the sort of form to head towards another Grand National Carnival tilt.
The horse was on his way to a topfive finish in last year’s Grand National Hurdles behind the winner, Ready Eddie, before clipping the last fence and falling.
The horse should return to Riccarton a stronger prospect this year and, with more jumping experience, he looms as a genuine longrange prospect in the race.
‘‘If you look at his run last year, he was the only one coming into it,’’ Tyler said.
‘‘He has come back a bit stronger this year. He will head back [to the Grand National Hurdles] again, but we will just have to decide where he goes in the meantime.’’
Promising hurdler Jackfrost ran into second place in the race, but was not a threat to the winner.
The horse is likely to improve greatly from the run, which was his first over fences this jumping season.
Superior fitness was the key to Speedy Jax winning Saturday’s maiden hurdle.
The Kevin and Pam Hughestrained 7yrold stuck grimly to his lead in the home straight and held off a big finish from Point Proven to claim race 1.
The hardfought victory came despite the horse not travelling like a winner for rider Hamish McNeill.
‘‘He didn’t handle the ground all that well and he didn’t jump too well, either,’’ McNeill said.
‘‘But he’s fit and that is what it takes in ground like that; you have just got to be fit.’’
The race highlighted the desperate situation trainers of southern steeplechasers are in at the moment.
The Otago Steeplechase did not get enough entries to be run, which forced trainer Ellis Winsloe to line Tai Ho up in the race. The horse went a solid race in third behind the fastfinishing Point Proven.
Winsloe is hopeful next month’s Timaru Steeplechase will get enough entries to be run, or he will have to take the horse to the North Island.