| Master trainer
Jim Houlahan will be sending his star pupil, Marlborough, back to school today as the next
phase in a campaign that could see his connections taking a crash course in Japanese later
this month. That will be when the Australian
representative for the rich Nakayama Grand Jump will be announced and Houlahan believes
his champion has the right credentials to triumph on the international stage.
" He’ll be a worthy representative if
chosen" said the trainer, humbly.
" He’s got nothing to prove, but it would be a
real feather in his cap to run in this race and nice for the country if he could win it
too." he added.
Marlborough swept all before him - and all others aside -
during his freak run through the winter of 1999, which saw him capture the prestigious
Triple Crown races- the Australian Hurdle, Grand National Hurdle and A.V.Hiskens Steeple-
a feat that we may not see from another horse for many years to come.
Undefeated in his 5 jumps appearances that preparation,
Houlahan rates Marlborough’s victory in the final leg of the coveted trio as one of
his most memorable. " His Hiskens run was enormous." he said, with the pride in
his voice clearly detectable. " His last jump in that race was as big as you’ll
see anywhere in the world." he stated.
It’s a return to that spectacular form that his
connections and fans of jumps racing are keen to witness again, but it has been a test of
patience for his trainer, taking a long and steady path with the 8yo since recovering from
a slight tendon strain early last year. Houlahan said of the injury, " It was enough
to warn us- if we had have pushed on, he could have suffered long term damage."
Thankfully though, the only significant scarring as a
result of the setback was the disappointment at not being able to see the champion fly the
flag in Japan last year.
But their ensuing patience has been rewarded to date, with
Marlborough coming through each stage of his recovery to his trainer’s delight.
" He came back and did about a month in June and a month in August, but he’s
back in work seriously since about October." Houlahan stated.
Slow and steady seems to be winning this race for the son
of Zabeel, with mile after mile of pacework over the trainer’s gentle undulating
Rosebud complex strengthening the tendons and conditioning the muscles to withstand the
pressure of leaping towards further fame and glory.
Jockey Craig Durden will reunite with his old mate
Marlborough for the first time in nearly 12 months for this morning’s schooling
session which will commence fine tuning the horse’s technique for the challenging
obstacles he’s hoping to face in the land of the rising sun come April.
Notwithstanding the fact that Durden is arguably the finest
in his craft, he is no stranger to victory in Japan either, having successfully
represented Australia in previous sojourns there and that experience will certainly be
called upon should Marlborough get the nod.
So, for a captivating, full report from both trainer and
jockey on how Marlborough handles the first hurdle on the path to his racetrack return,
keep posted to this site......... where we’ll clear any obstacle to bring you all the
inside stories of the jumps racing world.......so remember...GO JUMP!!!!!
Don Cooper |
