Yarra
Glen trainer, Andrew Wilson may have been thinking the hands of time had turned back as he
watched his dour hurdler, Osborne Well dispose of his rivals in the Esky Day Open Hurdle
at Moe on Saturday.
It was fourteen months to the day, at the same
track, over the same journey, that a similar result was etched into the pages of history -
the only difference being that Wllie Harnett was treated to the winning conveyance on this
occasion, as opposed to Phillip Scattergood.
The eight year old’s recent form is a
reflection of that December day and encountered little difficulty in picking up where he
left off at Werribee last start, making it back to back victories.
However, Wilson’s initial thoughts were
the victory may have come at a price. "He pulled up a bit sore immediately following
the race and Willie was concerned about him as his action was quite scratchy, but
fortunately it looks as though it may have only been a combination of yet another hard
track and his front boots perhaps being a bit tight. It was pretty warm and his legs may
have just filled up a bit, but he’s been swimming since then and seems fine now"
reported his ecstatic trainer.
Although the hard track may have attributed to
Osborne Well’s short lived, uncomfortable gait, his rider could not have praised the
course groundstaff enough for the state of the going, especially considering the time of
the year. "They always do a fantastic job at Moe and there was definitely some give
in the ground. It was a fantastic surface". commented the victorious Harnett, who now
stands as the only rider this year to have multiple wins to his credit.
The hard working Harnett is taking the
reserved approach to his current success, though, stating, "Well, I’m just
having a pretty good run at the moment !"
And a "pretty good run" was exactly
what he presented Osborne Well with over the 2900 metres journey, timing his run at the
leaders to perfection and having the audacity to take a check on proceedings for the minor
issues in the run to the wire.
After settling at the rear of the field,
Harnett allowed Osborne Well to steadily improve at his own pace, tracking alongside the
highly fancied public elect, Zubin and at one stage looked to pocket the Jim Houlahan
representative, but found that to be an unnecessary tactic when the "hot pot"
found the transition in tempo too sharp for his liking at this early stage in his
preparation.
When Harnett slipped his charge a little more
leather at about the 650 metre mark, it was clearly evident the hard yards put in by Covet
Cross in bringing the field up to early, tearaway leader, King Norman, were taking their
toll and the pair came to the final hurdle together. One horse full of running - the other
running on nothing but gameness.
"They drew to the last together"..
explained Wilson "... and Covet Cross laid his ears back at it whereas our bloke
pricked his up and really took hold of the bit and ran away with it". he added.
The ease of the victory was probably the most
surprising - but satisfying - part of the result, with Wilson quick to praise his
jockey’s execution of the well timed surge. "He’s a good judge of pace,
that Willie". he said.
Covet Cross must have enthused trainer Pat
Hyland with his courageous effort to battle on and hold down second place, confirming that
the reports out of his trial were well founded. He will only improve on that experience,
as will third placegetter, Zubin, who was reported to come back to scale "a little
big" and will surely be yet another of the Rosebud force to be reckoned with in the
ensuing months.
Osborne Well’s future is yet to be firmly
decided, but plans are to bring the Wilson and Harnett show to town in the coming weeks,
and if they can produce a performance of similar magnitude in the big smoke, they may just
continue on their merry, winning way.
And don’t forget, if you want to keep up
with all the local news and exploits of our international
stars..............................................GO JUMP !!!!!!!!!! |
