Borrack on song for tilt at Aussie jumps
Me and him have this connection, we just seem to click. Borrack’s jockey Cody Singer
BOLD jumper Borrack will be on a plane to Melbourne today after his dashing win in yesterday’s Waikato Hurdles at Te Rapa.
But the horse’s biggest fan, regular jockey Cody Singer, doesn’t know yet if he will retain the ride when the horse tackles some ambitious targets in the next two months.
Singer couldn’t heap enough praise on the baldy faced sevenyear-old after he set a modern day weight-carrying record, lumping 69.5kg to a short-neck win over the fast-closing roughie Arose.
And even when Borrack made a blue at the last fence, getting in too close then belting it hard and screwing badly on landing, Singer praised his ability.
‘‘I knew he was tiring under his big weight, and he got in too close, but he’s just so bold, he’d rather pull the fence down than lay down, he’s so tough.
‘‘Ideally I should have brought him back, but you’re better off not messing with him, you just leave him alone and let him do it.’’
Singer said winning the feature race for his boss trainer Adrian Bull was a massive thrill. No horse had won the race carrying more than 66.5kg since 1974.
‘‘It means a great deal to know I’ve done all the work on him. Nobody else has ridden him over fences except Matt Gillies.’’
Yesterday was Singer’s fifth win on the horse but it could have been two more had he not been sidelined with concussion last winter.
‘‘Me and him have this connection, we just seem to click,’’ said Singer, 21, who has now won a dozen jumps races.
Asked if he thought Borrack would handle himself in the hustle and bustle of the Australian jumps scene, Singer was very positive.
‘‘I’d love to go to Melbourne to ride him. If he keeps settling the way he is now, and gets a better track, and he gets over there at 100 per cent, he can do it.
‘‘Over there there is high pres- sure in those jumps races because they attack so much but he’s very tough.’’
Singer said while Borrack was stopping yesterday over 3200 metres, Bull hoped to get him up to 3900m at Sandown for the A$200,000 Grand National Hurdle on July 15.
Before that he has options like the A$100,000 Australian Hurdle (3400m) at Sandown on June 2, and a A$100,000 open hurdle at Bendigo on June 17.
Havelock North co-owner Alistair Cuming, representing Bull who was at Awapuni with stable runner Skirmish, said he believed top jumps trainer Kevin Myers would be looking after the horse across the Tasman.
Yesterday’s win was Cuming’s best as an owner with Bull, who were shearing mates on leaving school.
‘‘We kept the friendship going and have raced a few together but this one is the best.’’
While Borrack’s sole defeat in seven hurdle starts was over 4200m in last year’s Grand National at Riccarton, Cuming said he thought Bull had designs on steeplechasing later this year.
Pukekohe trainer Ray Gavin, who went within a few centimetres of claiming yesterday’s prize with Arose, said the 10-year-old would run at Ellerslie in two weeks, then be set for the Great Northern.
There were nearly 10 lengths back to hurdles newcomer Dubhdara, who did well considering he bungled an early fence. Rider Isaac Lupton did an outstanding job to stay on board after being being slung out the side of the saddle and losing an iron.