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The patience of Rob
Trainer Robbie Laing had twice brought Mazzacano back from bowed tendons, and one of these was a double bow (both front legs). So when the then six-year-old bowed his near fore tendon for the third time in winning the Crisp Steeplechase (3900m) at Sandown in June 2007 – his sixth jumping win in six starts – Laing knew all about the long road to rehabilitation.
And he remembered what his father Eddie, also a successful trainer, had told him some 20 years earlier: speed and fatigue are the two things that cause bowed tendons in horses.
So there was no rush down the rehab road. Laing’s work was justified on Saturday when Mazzacano (B g 8, King Ivor-Festival Rose (NZ), Gleam Machine (USA)), lumping 69.5kg, won his second Australian Steeplechase (3900m) at Sandown – the other was two years ago with 62kg, at the start before the Crisp.
Laing (50) gave Mazzacano time to recover from stem cell surgery and then used the expertise of other trainers to ensure the jumper was ready to take a lot of work, but not at top speed, and then that work was broken up so not to cause fatigue.
“Congratulations to Teddy Demmler and Matty Feiss,” Laing said. “They’ve had the horse on and off over a period of 18 months – Teddy trots him on the hard ground; there’s a month in the paddock; then it’s up to Matty’s for a month on the Aquasizer (water walker) …
“And we just took our time. The thing we had up our sleeve with him was that he was only six years old when he went amiss. He’s eight years old now, he’s still a young horse.
“We gave him a bit of a half-baked preparation last year and I rang Matty Perrin (who leased Mazzacano from owner Greg Mance) and I said, ‘Nuh, too soon.’
“Matty was of the opinion if he goes sore we’ll pull up. I said no, if he goes sore he’s buggered.”
This year, Mazzacano was ready, and so was Laing, who told the media he would start the gelding only if he believed he could win. After eight barrier trials, the sentimental favourite proved a worthy punters’ favourite (at $4.20, equal with Rude ‘n’ Abrupt, sixth). Carrying his big weight, he came from near the rear – and after bungling the 11th fence of the 13, his only mistake all race – to circle the field, join the leaders at the top of the straight, lead over the last jump and hold off a challenge from Brookton Mist ($16) to win by three-quarters of a length.
One mission accomplished. Next is the 2009 version of the Crisp on August 16 at Sandown, a set weights race. Depending on the weight alloted, Cranbourne-based Laing will then look to the Grand National Steeplechase (4530m), also at Sandown, on August 30.
If Laing believes the handicapper sets the champ too tough a task, he will consider an English campaign, preferring Europe to Japan because of the softer tracks – Japan’s Grand Jump was won in 2005, ‘06 and ‘07 by Karasi, trained at Cranbourne by Eric Musgrove.
Laing, who marvels at Mazzacano’s endurance and recovery, said he was the right horse to campaign overseas because he is a relaxed racer and jumper and “seven kilometres wouldn’t bother him at all”.
This is the distance (7242m, actually) of England’s Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree, Liverpool, a race that has intrigued Australians since 1973 when Crisp was run down in the last stride (www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiGaX0d_Pjk) by England’s great Red Rum. Crisp carried 12st, which is just over 76kg in the “new”. (Red Rum, winning the first of his three, had 10st 5lb, or 65.75kg).
While Crisp’s weight was significantly more than Mazzacano had on Saturday, the Big M was the first to win the Australian Steeple with 11st (give or take an ounce or two) since Tranquil Glow in 1960 – the lb/kg conversions have Tranquil Glow carrying 69.85kg. In 1957 the great jumper Pedro’s Pride won the race with 12st 6lb (78.9kg).
Actually, Mazzacano ranks only 30th in weight carriers on the Australian Steeple honours list from 1882. Trawl back through the records and you find some amazing efforts: Redditch won in 1933 and ‘34 with 12st 13lb (82.1 kg) each time, and he beat the legendary Mosstrooper in the first win; and in 1892 Redleap won with 13st 12lb (88kg).
But since Tranquil Glow, the only other winner with anywhere near Mazzacano’s weight was Salieri’s Son (68.5kg) in 1995.
Saturday’s win first up after two years was not a first for Laing, who did the same with Sir Pentire in the Grand Annual Steeplechase (5500m) at Warrnambool in May, when the achievement was underplayed among the negative headlines that accompanied the deaths of three horses in carnival jumps races and the accompanying temporary ban on jumps racing, which got back on track, after 11 days of “debate”, with some modifications.
There was no prouder man at Sandown than Eddie Laing, a jumps and flat trainer of note before his retirement in 2005.
Robbie Laing, who said he “stumbled on this way of training them” (Sir Pentire and Mazzacano), listed the two jumps wins as his career highlights alongside Pantani winning the Andrew Ramsden first up (over 3200m on the flat at Flemington) and the 50/1 outsider Roman Arch winning the group 1 Australian Cup (2000m at Flemington).
Eddie Laing said Mazzacano’s win was a pick-me-up for owner Greg Mance, who has Parkinson’s disease.
“Congratulations to Greg and commiserations to Matty,” said Robbie Laing, who explained that Matty was Matthew Perrin, whose lease of the horse reverted to Mance, the breeder, after Perrin’s bankruptcy early this year.
“Matt knows Greg really well and said (a few years back), ‘You haven’t got a horse there I could lease off you? I want to win a race at Warrnambool one day, a jumping race.’ Greg said, ‘I’ve got one there that’ll run all day, never jumped anything but I think he might make a jumper.’ And Greg recommended me and Mazzacano came down as a 4YO.
”The lease rental was very low when he was only an average horse and, funnily enough, the lease expired on the day he won that hurdle race at Warrnambool (a 3100-metre Novice Hurdle on May 3 2007, at his second jumps start).
“They were nearly not going to let him run because of the lease, so Matty got on the phone. Mancey wanted him back (so) I think the rental was pretty good (in the end) for Greg.”
First prize on Saturday was pretty good, too – $60,000-plus. Mazzacano has won 10 races from 42 starts and earned $306,248. Jumps races have provided $267,413 of that. His flat wins have been at Kyneton, Ballarat and Moe, that in the longest flat race in the state, over 3350m.
Young cross-country rider Gavin Bedggood has been on Mazzacano in all his jumps races except for the first, when Bill Williams had the ride. Bedggood was quite emotional on Saturday and his celebratory gesture at the post cost him a $300 fine.
When TVN interviewer Terry Bailey suggested Mazzacano looked out on his feet nearing the line, Bedggood said: “Yeah, that’s what it felt like, too, (but) they don’t come any tougher.”
By the way, Laing trained Brookton Mist, the grey who chased hard to finish second to Mazzacano before he was sent to Anthony Bolden at Woolamai to get over a cracked elbow. He hasn’t come back to Laing, but on Saturday he almost came back to haunt him.
THEY SAID IT
“Mazzacano is tired … he’s got the big weight … he’s got the giant heart.” Course commentator Greg Miles’s superb call approaching the post in the Australian Steeple.
“The problems that we have had with this horse have really put me through the mill as a trainer. I would like to see him retire, but he could have one more run in the York Stakes. An announcement into which stud he will be standing at, will be made next week.” Winning trainer Darren McAuliffe following the win of the Scenic entire, Universal Ruler (ex Rulings, by Hurricane Sky), in a thrilling Belmont Stakes (1400m, Group 3) at Belmont on Saturday. It was Universal Ruler’s fourth start since his attempt at the KrisFlyer in Singapore in May 2008. Given the remarkable success of Scenic this season (his sons Viewed and Scenic Blast won the Melbourne Cup, Newmarket and Lightning Stakes), and continual success of his progency in WA, there are sure to be queues lining up for Universal Ruler’s services this spring. Saturday’s win was his fourth Stakes win, with his record now six wins from 11 starts.
WE SAW IT
Jockey Craig Durden gave a “high five” to Gavin Bedggood and leant across for an affectionate pat of Maazzacano’s head on pulling up after the steeple. You know you’ve seen a special win when one of the beaten brigade acts that way.
Durden’s high toss from Pentiffic, the Australian Hurdle favourite at $3.30, when the horse clipped heels after a jump on the Sandown hill was “ejector seat” stuff, and Durden was lucky to escape unscathed. Pentiffic kept galloping and, riderless, made the turn into the straight difficult for Brad McLean on Hooker Road, a small horse with a big weight (68kg). The $6 chance shrugged off the inconvenience and won bravely.
Jockeys wore black armbands at Sandown as a mark of respect for Ron Hall Snr, a former top jumps rider, who died on Saturday, aged 87. Hall won three Victorian jumps premierships in the 1940s and trained Innisfree to win the 1978 Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm in Brisbane when ridden by son Greg, who won the 1992 Melbourne Cup on Subzero. Another son, Ron Jnr, is head of the Victorian apprentice jockeys’ school. Greg’s son Nicholas is the state’s leading apprentice jockey. (to read our story on the Hall family in the Spring 2007 issue of The Thoroughbred magazine – Hall in the family).
WE’LL WATCH IT
The battles to be top jockey and trainer continue in Melbourne and Sydney: Craig Williams joined Damien Oliver on top in Melbourne with 63 wins; Lee Freedman is three in front of David Hayes (64-61); in Sydney, Hugh Bowman skipped clear of Corey Brown (78-73); and Gai Waterhouse is 6.5 ahead of Peter Snowden (77.5-71). Hong Kong’s season finishes a month before Australia’s, and the HK training race has become even hotter with only four meetings left – Caspar Fownes, the 2007 winner, moved one closer (on 60) to season-long top dog John Moore (62), and 2008 winner John Size (has 57).
The Winter Stakes (1400m), the final Group 1 race of the season, heads the program at Eagle Farm with Ortensia, Absolut Glam, Chinchilla Rose, Forensics, Dane Julia, Marveen and Serious Speed among the nominations. And the meeting has the Group 3 Tattersall’s Cup Handicap (2200m), the Group 3 Healy Stakes (1200m) and two Listed races.
They also race at Moonee Valley, Randwick, Morphettville and Belmont.
Pike’s early look at HK
A jockey shortage in Hong Kong means Perth’s champion rider William Pike will get an early taste of the job he has accepted for next season as a Hong Kong Jockey Club retained jockey.
Pike (23) will ride at Belmont tomorrow, but will go to Hong Kong to ride at the final four meetings of the season, on June 21, 24 and 28 and July 1. The June 24 meeting will be at Happy Valley, the others at Sha Tin – racing will resume in September after the annual break.
Australian Zac Purton will be from a back injury at Sunday’s meeting, and he Brett Prebble, Darren Beadman and James Winks will return next season, which will be Pike’s first fulltime.
Suspensions and injuries, and Prebble going to England to ride Sacred Kingdom in the Group 1 Golden Jubilee Stakes (1200m) at Royal Ascot on June 20, have forced the HKJC to look overseas to fill the gap for the remainder of this season, and Pike was an obvious target. Singapore-based South African Robbie Fradd, who has ridden in Hong Kong, was another – he will fill in this weekend at least.
Pike will win his second WA crown this season.
Australian trainer John Moore, who has been long odds-on for months to win the trainers’ premiership in Hong Kong, is looking over his shoulder with five meetings left. Moore has 62 wins, and coming home with a wet sail is Caspar Fownes, whose recent success has lifted his tally to 59. John Size is still in the race, too, with 57.
Prebble (72) is second on the jockeys’ ladder to South African Douglas Whyte (94). Beadman is third on 38. Purton has 33 and Winks 10.
Darley’s Dubai adventure
The decision of Sheikh Mohammed to send the Group 1 class colts Time Thief and Fravashi, and to a lesser extent Sousa, to Dubai to join his Godolphin stable is likely to have important ramifications in the Australian breeding industry.
The trio are part of a batch of nine Darley-owned, Australian-bred and trained horses that are heading to Dubai to be aimed towards the Dubai World Cup meeting in March 2010, and then the European flat season after that, including a tilt at Royal Ascot.
Eight of the horses are from Darley’s head-trainer Peter Snowden’s team; Time Thief (b c 3, Redoute’s Choice-Procrastinate, by Last Tycoon) is the only selection from Lee Freedman’s Markdel operation.
The other six are: Aichi (B g 3, Strategic-Nagoya, by Quest For Fame), Caymans (b g 3, Secret Savings-Easy Out, by Anabaa), Marching (b h 4, Commands-Step, by Grand Lodge), Desuetude (gr c 3, Strategic-Martella, by Unbridled’s Song), El Cambio (Br g 4, Commands-Chaparra, by Canny Lad) and Imvula (b g 4, Rock Of Gibraltar-African Rain, by Woodman).
The “Aussie Nine” will leave almost immediately for Dubai, and in doing so they will miss the Sydney and Melbourne spring carnivals.
Darley managing director Henry Plumptre said it was important for the horses to acclimatise to their new surroundings before they are set for the big races in Dubai and Europe in 2010.
“It has been proven that in going to Dubai it takes four to six months to acclimatise, so for the best chance to be competitive, the horses have to leave in June or early July,” he said.
Plumptre said there is a chance some of the horses will race soon after arriving in Dubai, at the tail end of the Dubai summer racing season. “From Darley’s perspective, we can see Dubai becoming a very important part of the future of the Australian operation.”
Plumptre said that Fravashi (b or br c 3, Falbrav-Angelic Smile, by Dehere) and Time Thief have a very good chance of establishing a stud career, especially for a return to Australia, by winning at the highest level in Europe.
“Fravashi failed at his only Group 1 attempt this season (fifth in the Australian Guineas, 1600m, at Flemington) but that was put down to pilot error as much as anything,” he said.
“And we have always regarded Time Thief as a Group 1 horse. We probably asked too much of him in the autumn, as he is a gangly, immature horse.”
Plumptre said that Sousa (b h 4, Galileo-Liberty Song, by Last Tycoon), the only Group 1 winner of the nine horses – he won the Spring Champion Stakes (2000m, Randwick) last year – is likely to find himself remaining in Europe if he can win at the highest level.
“Sousa has a very European pedigree. If he can win a Group 1 race in Europe, he could easily find himself as a stallion prospect.”
Plumptre also said the smart Aichi should be competitive next season in the sprints. “He’s a true Australian sprinter. He’s tough and, being a gelding, there are countless options for him to race for some time in Dubai and Europe.”
Plumptre said the decision to send these well-credentialled, sound horses, who are at the peak of their careers, to Godolphin is more than an experiment. “We see five or 10 horses going every year from Darley to Godolphin. Most of the horses will go at the end of their 3YO year, as it is no good sending them earlier because they race at such an age disadvantage against the European 3YOs. At four, they come in well under the weight-for-age system.”
Plumptre said the fact that Godolphin could hand-pick such an impressive group of horses from Sheikh Mohammed’s Australian operation was a tribute to the former Woodlands Stud racing and breeding venture, which was bought early in 2008 from Bob Ingham.
“Six of the nine horses were bred at Woodlands. Significantly, apart from Forensics and Sousa, the other three Darley Group 1 winners (this season) were home-bred at Woodlands.”
The Preview for Belmont
The Thoroughbred’s in-depth Perth preview reveals the chances in the Quaddie legs and all races at Belmont on Saturday.
The best is a highly promising colt in the Guineas and there looks to be plenty of eachway value with the top selections in races three, four and eight.
To find out what our form analyst is tipping, CLICK HERE.
Griffiths wins with Midnight Blues
Midnight Blues, a close relation to Belleluia, scored a strong win at Sandown on Wednesday.
The 4YO mare is also trained by Robbie Griffiths, who has an affinity with Belleluia’s family. Griffiths not only trains Belleluia for The Thoroughbred Magazine Club but he also trained Midnight Sun, the Stakes-winning sister to Belleluia’s dam Song Of The Sun.
Midnight Sun, a grey by Desert Sun from Song Of Norway, is the dam of Midnight Blues, a brown mare by Distant Music.
Midnight Blues ploughed through the heavy track to beat Take The Cash in a 1300m 0-76 race for fillies and mares. It was the mare’s fourth win – three of them have been at Sandown. It was her second run from an 18-weeks’ spell, so she can be expected to continue to improve.
Belleluia continues to spell at Eliza Park. She should be back in work late in July.
Bits & Pieces
SINK OR SWIM
“I’m in a rowboat and I think he’s got an armada coming over from South Australia,” said Lee Freedman of the race against David Hayes for the Victorian metropolitan trainers’ premiership. Freedman’s comment came with his 64th win of the season, Gibraltar Moon (Ch f 2, Rock Of Gibraltar (IRE)-Undercover, by Covetous)) at Flemington on Saturday. Hayes won the next race with Arms Wide Open (B f 3, Encosta De Lago-Embraceable You (NZ), by Rodrigo De Triano (USA)) to go to 60, and made it 61 with Eau De Joie (B f 3, Encosta De Lago-Patou, by Covetous) at Moonee Valley on Monday.
There are 14 meetings to go. Will the rowboat sink, or can Freedy hold on and win his seventh title? Will the “armada” blow the boat out of the water, and sail on to a third premiership on end and the third in four seasons since Hayes came back from a decade in Hong Kong – he won six on end before going to Hong Kong.
One Melbourne trainer not up the creek without a paddle is Mick Price, who is third with 44 wins from 215 runners, or a 20.46% win rate. Rye-based Freedman’s strike rate is 16.08% (64-398) and Hayes, who has stables at Flemington and at Lindsay Park in SA, is at 10.46% (61-583).
The rowboat-armada analogy is allowing for a bit of trainer’s licence, with Freedman having six runners over the two long weekend race days and Hayes 10; and acceptances are 4-2 to Hayes at Sandown tomorrow. Rowboat-powerboat is about right.
Damien Oliver (63-346, 18.2%) leads Craig Williams (59-470, 12.55%) in the jockeys’ race. Williams is going for four on end, Oliver (suspended until Monday) is seeking his eighth.
In Sydney, Hugh Bowman leads Corey Brown 74-72 in the jockeys’ premiership, which appears to be a toss-of-the-coin job. Gai Waterhouse (77.5) leads Peter Snowden (70) for the trainers’ title, but Snowden remains a chance through sheer weight of numbers. There are 19 city meetings left.
With only the Winter Stakes (1400m) at Eagle Farm to go, the Group 1 premierships are just about settled: Gai Waterhouse and Mick Price will share it with six wins, although Peter Snowden (5) might join them if Forensics runs – and gets the right track – in the Winter Stakes; and Nash Rawiller (6) has only Craig Newitt and Damien Oliver (both 5) in a position to take a share of the riders’ glory.
SHREWD MOVE
“Extremely satisfying,” was Mick Price’s perfect summary of Shrewd Rhythm’s sprint win at Moonee Valley on Monday. The entire (B h 4, Danehill Dancer (IRE)-Balcanny, by Canny Lad) was sent to him after eight failures under the direction of David Hayes, although, unusually, Lindsay Park retains just over half the ownership. Nathan Tinkler’s Patinack Farm has a quarter share, so it was another tick for Price in his Tinkler relationship, and it came on top of a win for the Tinkler-Price team with 2YO Porsched (Gr c 2, Dehere (USA)-Casigris (USA), by Cozzene (USA)) in an earlier race.
It was a good weekend for massive spender Tinkler, with his second Group 1 of the season coming in Queensland. His Sydney trainer Jason Coyle prepared Linky Dink (B f 2, Keeper-Gimmick (NZ), by Sir Tristram (IRE)) to win the T.J. Smith (1200m) at Doomben on Saturday. Coyle also trains the other Group 1 winner, Onemorenomore (B c 2, Red Ransom (USA)-Palia, by Last Tycoon (IRE)), who won the Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick in April.
Stable jockey Peter Robl rode Linky Dink, a $26 shot with the bookies and double those odds on the three totes. And it was the first time Robl had seen Eagle Farm. He rode Onemorenomore, too.
THEY SAID IT
“He’s pretty much voice-activated. The more you talk to him the better he gets, “ said jockey Craig Newitt about Shrewd Rhythm.
… and further,
“It doesn’t matter what you say as long as it’s in a nice, quiet voice,” Newitt added.
“It’s all right when you’re in front,” Michael Rodd on riding in heavy rain on a heavy track, after winning on Mr Sargood, a leader … and a swimmer!
“Mate, I’m just a humble old jock pushing some slow horses around,” said Queen’s Birthday gong winner Neville Wilson, of Camperdown. The 62-year-old jockey was awarded an AOM (Medal of the Order of Australia) for services to regional horse racing; and he is much more than he claims – he has been a jockey since 1961, has more than 2000 winners from 16,000-plus rides, and is the long-serving president of the Victorian Jockeys’ Association. Wilson, Victoria’s oldest jockey, has given no hint of a retirement date – he had three unplaced rides in town at the weekend, and his last winner was at Casterton on May 31.
WE SAW IT
At Doomben, another strong performance – but no win – from a Mark Kavanagh-trained Street Cry gelding. Shocking (B c 3, Street Cry (IRE)-Maria Di Castiglia (GB), by Danehill (USA)) produced shades of the unlucky autumn horse Whobegotyou (Ch g 3, Street Cry (IRE)-Temple Of Peace (JPN), by Carnegie (IRE)) in the Group 1 Queensland Derby (2400m) to come wide from well back to hit the front, before succumbing to the strong finish of Court Ruler (B g 3, Viking Ruler-Free Court (NZ), by Pompeii Court (USA)). While the Kav crew were ruing another unlucky run, Kiwi trainer John Wheeler was enjoying a re-raising of the colours (maroon, yellow and blue) worn so successfully by Rough Habit (B g 1986, Roughcast (USA)-Certain Habit (NZ), by Ashabit (GB)) in Group 1 races in Queensland, NSW and Victoria in the early 1990s. Rough Habit won 11 Group 1 races from 1400m (Stradbroke Handicap, twice) to 2400m (Queensland Derby) and a total of 21 Stakes races, 10 of them in Queensland.
On a busy weekend overseas we saw Japan’s premiere mare Vodka (B m 2004, Tanino Gimlet (JAP) – Tanino Sister (JAP), by Rousillon (USA)) win the Group 1 Yasuda Kinen, the last leg of the Asian Mile Challenge. And didn’t the publicity about that series fizzle out when “our champ” Weekend Hussler was pulled out of the first leg, the Group 1 Futurity Stakes, on his home track, Caulfield? You remember the Hussler, don’t you? He’s back in work, with the 2040m Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in October as a likely goal. (The Plate is also on the agenda for Black Piranha, an impressive winner of the Group 1 Stradbroke after he had run three Group 1 seconds on end.)
Quick quiz – name the winner of the Asian Mile’s first three legs, the Futurity, the Dubai Duty Free and the Hong Kong Mile. (Answers below.)
In overseas classics: the Epsom Derby (2400m) was won by Irish trainer John Oxx’s Sea The Stars (B c 2006, Cape Cross (IRE)-Urban Sea (USA), by Miswaki (USA)), who left in his wake Aidan O’Brien’s big Coolmore team (he had six runners, who finished second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and 10th in a field of 12); the 2100-metre Prix Du Jockey Club, or French Derby, went to Le Havre (Blk or br c 2006, Noverre (USA)-Marie Rheinberg (GER), by Surako (GER), with Westphalia (third) the best of O’Brien’s string of four; and the Belmont Stakes, the 2400m final leg of the American Triple Crown, went to the ‘wrong’ bird – Summer Bird (Ch c 2006, Birdstone (USA)-Hong Kong Squall (USA), by Summer Squall (USA). Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird (B g 2006, Birdstone (USA)-Mining My Own (USA), by Smart Strike (CAN)) was third.
In Singapore, Michael Freedman trained the winner of the main race, a Group 3 1200m sprint, Mooring (B g 2005, Bel Esprit-Drop Anchor, by At Talaq (USA)), in the absence of super sprinter Rocket Man. Freeman has 28 wins for season, third behind Laurie Laxon (42) and Don Baertschiger (30) from far fewer starters – Freedman is striking at just on 20%, Laxon at just over 13% and Baertschiger at more than 12%. It was Freedman’s second Group win in just over a year in Singapore.
In Hong Kong, doubles to trainers Caspar Fownes and John Size will keep trainers’ premiership leader John Moore tossing and turning with six meetings to go – Moore has 62 winners, Fownes 57 and Size 56.
WE’LL WATCH IT
Perth on Saturday will have the Group 3 Belmont Sprint (1400m) and the Listed Belmont Guineas (1600m).
At Ipswich, the $200,000 Listed Ipswich Cup (2150m) heads the card, with two Listed races over 1350m, the Eye Liner Stakes and the Gai Waterhouse Classic. Surprisingly, Sir Slick (B g 7, Volksraad (GB)-Miss Opera (NZ), by Paris Opera) isn’t among the cup nominations – he was a super fifth in the Group 2 Brisbane Cup (2400m) at the weekend. It was his 100th start and the sixth Saturday in a row he had raced, over distances from 1350 to2400m for three thirds then an eighth, sixth and fifth. He has 20 wins, 17 seconds and 14 thirds, and has earned justrn