Puccini proves he can go the distance as Walker guides colt to NZ Derby victory

Wow. Just wow.

Puccini’s performance in Saturday’s Gr I $750,000 TV3 New Zealand Derby (2400m) defied belief.

He paraded in stunning order, a reflection of the immaculate conditioning job Matamata father and son trainers Peter and Jacob McKay had done with the Encosta De Lago colt.

And he ran accordingly. Just not in the manner we expected.

Derbies are the most prestigious of all Classic races as they really test the mettle of the the classiest three-year-olds.

Because they are such stamina tests, jockeys tend to ride to a carefully formulated plan, usually following a conservative approach along the lines of customary leadup tactics, ensuring their charge its best chance of seeing out its first attempt at 2400m. Michael Walker discarded the script. That was mostly through circumstances out of his control.

Puccini, who had led throughout for his wins in the Waikato Guineas and Avondale Guineas under Walker at his previous two starts, was slowly away and by the time he had balanced up, widely-drawn runners had crossed, leaving no way for him to weave his way through to get on speed.

Most punters on Puccini would have thought they had done their chips. But not Walker. He knew he was asking a lot of Puccini but then he also knew the size of engine beneath him as he set the colt alight at the 1000m on a gruelling run not just sit outside the leader but, as it turned out, put in his bid for glory.

Not many horses can sustain a 1000m sprint and win a Derby under such circumstances, especially against a field of the best three-year-olds in the land, most getting more economical runs in transit. Puccini did. And Walker let the Trackside audience know just how good he thought his mount was when talking with Tommy Hazzlett afterwards..

“Bro, how many horses can do that? He’s probably the best horse in New Zealand.”

He later added: “After having to do so much work in the race and then winning like that, I’d have to say he’s the best horse I’ve ever ridden.”

Walker had earlier in the week pondered whether Puccini could be the horse to take his career to a new level.

He has won plenty of feature races on both sides of the Tasman but races such as the Rosehill Guineas and Australian Derby in Sydney later this autumn and even the Cox Plate in Melbourne next spring now become realistic targets, races in which wins catapult jockeys to carnival stardom.

But as compelling as the theatre on the racetrack and in the birdcage af- terwards, the drama backstage leading into the Derby was just as intriguing.

Walker went into the meeting under an injury cloud, having not ridden since winning the Avondale Guineas on Puccini two weeks earlier.

He had injured his shoulder and ankle in a fall at Benalla two weeks before that and he aggravated his shoulder injury at Ellerslie on Guineas day.

Concerns arose when Walker suffered a back injury before his winning ride in the $ 50,000 Lindsay Mile aboard the Wayne Hillis-trained Rough Copy and he could hardly walk after his next ride aboard Gold ’N Mac.

It was only through the efforts of racecourse doctor Margaret Parle that Walker’s pain was able to be eased.

He stood under the shower with hot water running over his spasming back, while Parle massaged the muscles back to relaxation.

All the while, the McKays were getting more anxious as doubt grew over whether Walker would be fit enough to ride, Peter McKay concerned enough to have worked out the jockeys who were available as replacements on track.

But by the time jockeys were called to take their Derby mounts, Walker strode to the back parade ring as though nothing had happened and then went about producing one of the most audacious rides seen in the Derby.

Walker predicted fireworks in the Derby but nobody expected Puccini to be as explosive as that.

Now the mission is to show the Aussies the same wow-factor.