Johnson’s magic Final Touch
TOUGH SOUTH Island mare Final Touch gave a star-studded field both weight and a beating in yesterday’s $ 250,000 Telegraph Handicap, picking up her second Group I victory on the Trentham track this season, and crediting jockey Chris ‘‘ Magic’’ Johnson with his second success in the 1200-metre feature.
The Kashani mare, carrying equal topweight of 58kg, produced a whirlwind finish down the outside of the track to beat Xanadu by a long neck, with race favourite Burgundy 11⁄ lengths back in third place.
It was Final Touch’s 15th win from 37 starts and came two starts after she recorded a similar performance in taking out the $ 200,000 Captain Cook Stakes (1600m), at Trentham six weeks ago.
Yesterday’s win credited her Balcairn trainers John and Karen Parsons with their biggest success and helped pay expenses for a new house they are in the process of building.
Karen Parsons said Final Touch is a family pet and ‘‘one in a million’’.
‘‘She’s such an angel horse to have around the place and tries so hard,’’ she said.
For 48-year-old Johnson it was just another win at the elite level in a career that has spanned more than three decades, but one that gave him special satisfaction, as he has built up a great association with the Parsons, and has ridden Final Touch in each of her last five starts.
‘‘She’s a real honest horse and did well to carry that weight today and win,’’ Johnson said. ‘‘We got a bit held up but it was just a matter getting the gaps in the straight and she just burst to them in the last 200 metres.’’
Johnson’s other Telegraph Handicap success was back in 1996, aboard another South Island-trained sprinter in Loader.
He says he has no plans to retire from race-riding, saying as long as the body allows him he will continue to compete.
Xanadu had to settle for yet another GI placing, the fifth one of her short racing career.
‘‘ I thought she was going to finally get one today but it wasn’t to be,’’ said co-trainer Ken Kelso.
‘‘It was still a huge run and she can now go to the Waikato Sprint.’’
The weight- for- age $ 200,000 Waikato Draught Sprint (1400m) is run at Te Rapa on February 9.
Burgundy settled in behind the pace and looked the likely winner when he dived between runners and hit the front inside the final 300 metres. Durham Town was fourth over the line after appearing to have every chance and Antonio Lombardo battled on well for fifth after disputing the pace.
GLAD EARNED automatic entry into Saturday’s GI $ 200,000 Thorndon Mile at Trentham with a game victory in yesterday’s traditional lead-up, the listed $50,000 Anniversary Handicap, but is not a certain starter, according to trainer Jason Bridgman.
‘‘She’s only a little mare and not a terrific doing horse so she would have to do really well in the next few days to consider backing her up next week,’’ Bridgman said.
‘‘This race today was really the race we’d set her for but we will just see how she does before making a final decision.’’
Although small in stature Glad showed real toughness in taking out yesterday’s 1600m race, taking the lead early in the home straight and staving off the challenge by favourite Sangster to score by a neck.
Glad was recording her fourth win and has only once finished further back than fourth in 10 starts. She is owned by the Waikato Stud and is related to unbeaten champion Australian galloper Black Caviar.
JOCKEY NOEL HARRIS will be on short food rations in the coming days, but says the fasting will be worth it after O’Fille rocketed into calculations for Saturday’s GII $200,000 Wellington Cup with a dominant win in yesterday’s Mills Reef Trentham Stakes.
Wanganui trainer Wayne Marshment has long had the Wellington Cup in mind for O’Fille and the O’Reilly mare will get into the 2400m race with just 52kg on her back. Harris had to waste hard to ride her at 53kg yesterday and is not looking forward to having to shed another kilogram.
‘‘I’ll do it hard but to ride a horse like this you have to make sacrifices,’’ Harris said.
He has been O’Fille’s regular rider and has been aboard the mare in three of her four wins. He has always held her in very high regard.
‘‘She’s the type of horse that will keep me going for the next couple of years,’’ the 58-year-old said.
Spiro also turned in an excellent Wellington Cup trial in finishing second to O’Fille, albeit 13⁄ lengths away, while Inferno was a further three-quarters of a length back in third place.
LITTLE-KNOWN Otaki trainer John Kiernan rocked punters for the second time in a major race on the Trentham track when he produced Weissmuller to win yesterday’s $ 70,000 Phill Cataldo Bloodstock Wellington Stakes (1600m).
Weissmuller was having just his third start and dented the reputations of several more highly rated three-year-olds, winning at odds of better than 13 to one.
Kiernan is a farrier by trade and only has three horses in work. His biggest New Zealand win was when No Mean City took out the GI Auto Auctions Weight-for-age (1400m) at Trentham in February, 2002. A year after that he won the GII Hawke’s Bay Cup with Pillage ‘N Plunder and then took that horse across the Tasman, where he won that year’s GI $A400,000 Adelaide Cup (3200m). Kiernan is now planning an attack on a third GI event with Weissmuller being aimed at the $750,000 New Zealand Derby (2400m), at Ellerslie on March 2.
‘‘ We’ve always had the New Zealand Derby in mind for this horse from the day he had his first race and, hopefully, I can get him there,’’ Kiernan said.
‘‘ He’s still learning, but is a lovely big animal with a beautiful nature, and should have no trouble getting the Derby distance.’’
Kiernan said the Handsome Ransom gelding may take in the Avondale Guineas ( 2100m) on February 17 as a leadup to the Derby.
Weissmuller left a big impression when winning his debut over 1200 metres at Otaki a month ago, but then only managed sixth over 1400m at Awapuni last week.
‘‘He’s a big horse that needs a big track with a nice camber on it and he got that today. It’s not like that at Awapuni,’’ Kiernan added.
Weissmuller’s win continued the great run being experienced by 23- year- old Waverley jockey Johnathon Parkes, who is enjoying his best ever season of race-riding and has won both the $ 70,000 Manawatu Cup and $55,000 Marton Cup aboard Ransomed in the past month.
Weissmuller
was
bred
by
Wel- lington men Tommy Heptinstall and Tom Pivac, who race the horse in partnership with a large group of their close friends.
The three- year- old is a fullbrother to Travolta, a horse Kiernan saddled up to finish sixth in last year’s NZ Derby before being sold to Australia. He has since won two races from the Sydney stable of Gai Waterhouse.
Weissmuller took out yesterday’s race by 21⁄ lengths from Lucky Country, with Sam Mesi half-a-length back in third place.
Race favourite Abraham Lincoln ( sixth) looked the likely winner when he cruised up outside the leader on the home turn, but lacked a finishing sprint.
BOOM SIRE Darci Brahma added another dimension to his already impressive record as a stallion when his daughter Recite recorded a scintillating win in yesterday’s GII $ 85,000 Wakefield Challenge Stakes.
The stock of the Oaks Studbased Darci Brahma have been winning races with uncanny regularity over the past 12 months, including last season’s New Zealand Oaks (2400m) at Trentham with Artistic. But Recite is his first high-profile two-year-old winner.
‘‘It’s good to get a two-year-old classic win. Most of his top progeny have been three- yearolds,’’ Oaks Stud manager Rick Williams said.