The Hombre back on top again

While Jimmy Choux’s win in the Group 1 $300,000 NZ Bloodstock Insurance Spring Classic at Saturday’s Hawke’s Bay meeting was undoubtedly the high point of the day for his trainer John Bary, the win by The Hombre one race later was just about as satisfying.

The Hombre, the star of Bary’s stable before Jimmy Choux came along, resumed from a break of almost four months in the $30,000 Thomson’s Suits Premier (1200m). He was confidently predicted to perform well fresh up, after some excellent trackwork, but hadn’t been successful since he was promoted from second to first in the Group 3 $A125,000 Rough Habit Plate (2020m) at Brisbane’s Doomben track, in May of last year.

Ridden by talented apprentice Rory Hutchings, The Hombre was entitled to weaken in the final stages on Saturday after being caught three-wide for the entire race. But he showed great determination in the final 200 metres, sticking his neck out on the line to snatch a nose victory in a quick time of 1:10.09.’

“It was a gutsy run and it’s the first time he’s really stretched his head out and run straight,” Bary said.

“To be caught three-wide all the way and win in a time of 1:10 and a bit was a pretty big effort.”

The Hastings track record for 1200 metres is 1:08.18, held by Falkirk since November 2003.

The Hombre was recording his fifth win for his four Hawke’s Bay owners, one of whom is Bary. The other three are Bary’s loyal stable client Ivan Grieve, Hastings businessman John O’Sullivan and farmer Chris Skerman.

Bary outlaid $50,000 to buy the Lucky Owners gelding at the 2008 two-year-old Ready To Run sale and he has now won the partners more than $236,000 in stakemoney.

The Hombre won his only two-year-old start, over 1200 metres, at Hastings in April 2009. He then won again over 1200 metres as an early three-year-old before confirming his trip to last year’s Queensland winter carnival with an emphatic 1-3/4 length over 1400 metres at Te Aroha in April of last year.

He won the Rough Habit Plate at his Australian debut before running a close second to Kutchinsky in the Group 3 $150,000 Grand Prix Stakes (2200m), also at Doomben. He was then stepped up to the 2400 metres of the $A500,000 Queensland Derby at Eagle Farm but only managed ninth.

The Hombre has made two more trips to Australia since then. He was unplaced in three middle distance starts in Victoria last spring and was also unplaced in three runs over distances ranging from 2020 metres to 2200 metres at this year’s Queensland winter carnival. He was then spelled in Queensland before returning to Bary’s stable a much bigger and stronger horse.

Bary now feels The Hombre is best suited by shorter distances and says the horse will be kept to sprint events and the odd 1600-metre race.

“I also think he’s better going right-handed so maybe a race like the Railway could be an option,” he added.

The Group 1 $200,000 Railway Stakes (1200m) is run on the right-handed Ellerslie track on New Year’s Day.

Meanwhile Jimmy Choux has come through his magnificent fifth Group 1 victory on Saturday in excellent condition. The horse was on a float to Auckland today where he will spend a couple of quiet days before boarding a flight to Melbourne on Sunday for a tilt at the $A3million Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 22.

Winning double at HB

Promising Hastings stayer Just As Well continued his rapid rise through the grades with another impressive all the way win in the $25,000 Rush Munro Premier (2000m) at Saturday’s Hawke’s Bay meeting.

The Lowell gelding was a maiden just two months ago but has since had five starts for three wins and a third. He lined up on all three days of the Hawke’s Bay spring carnival for a third and two wins and is now a Rating 80 horse.

The big chestnut had to work hard in the early stages to overcome the outside barrier draw on Saturday but was then rated to perfection in front by promising apprentice Lisa Whelan. She slowed the pace and stacked the field up behind her in the middle stages before kicking her mount clear rounding the home turn. Just As Well kept up a strong run to the line to win by 1-1/4 lengths.

Just As Well is trained on the Hastings track by Mick Brown and his wife Sue Thompson-Brown and the win was their third from just nine starters this season. They also prepared Midnight Paddle to deadheat for first in a 1400-metre maiden at Otaki two weeks ago.

Lady Kipling, part-owned by Havelock North’s Laurence Redshaw, also completed a successful double at this year’s Hawke’s Bay spring carnival. The Savabeel mare was a game long neck winner of a Rating 70 1400-metre race on the middle day, on September 17, and was even more impressive when striding away for 2-3/4 length victory in a $25,000 Rating 80 1400-metre event on Saturday.

Lady Kipling, who is trained at Cambridge by Murray Baker, has now won four races from just 14 starts and was also placed third in the Group 1 Levin Classic (1600m) at Otaki last spring. The four-year-old was a $62,500 purchase from the Karaka yearling sales and is owned by Redshaw in partnership with Gisborne farmer Geoff Candy.

‘Dragon’ roars again

Hong Kong's reigning horse of the year, the Hawke’s Bay-bred Ambitious Dragon, made an unbelievable winning return to the track in the $HK500,000 National Day Cup (1400m) at Sha Tin on Saturday.
Despite trainer Tony Millard declaring him "nowhere near his peak," the Pins gelding showed an amazing turn-of-foot from the back of the field to thrash several true 1400 metre specialists by 2-1/2 lengths, without even being touched with the whip.
"He's improved," said Millard. “I thought he might run third or fourth and I'd have been very pleased with that because this was just the start of his preparation for the international meeting in December. But to beat horses like that ridden hands and heels was just unbelievable. That was something to behold."

Ambitious Dragon, who included the HK-1 Classic Cup, HK-1 Hong Kong Derby
and Group 1 QE II Cup among his wins last season, is by Pins out of the Oregon mare Golden Gamble and was bred by Taupo’s Pat Lowry.

The horse started out in the Hastings stable of Guy Lowry before being sold to clients of Hong Kong trainer Tony Millard.

Seventh win for ‘Hussler’

Kiwi Hussler, part-owned by Hawke’s Bay Racing’s general manager Jason Fleming, brought up his seventh win when leading all the way in a Rating 85 1600-metre race at Sunday’s Otago meeting.

Ridden perfectly by experienced jockey David Walsh, the Hussonet six-year-old set a slow pace in the early stages of the race before skipping clear at the top of the home straight. He had plenty in reserve and raced away to beat his three rivals by 7-1/4 lengths.