Rosehill trainer Chris Waller jockey Glyn Schofield and rising six-year-old Hawk Wing gelding Hawk Island (IRE) have formed a formidable combination with another win at the Sydney Turf Club’s meeting at Rosehill on Saturday, the last meeting of the 2009/10 season.
Hawk Island (IRE) and Glyn Schofield on the outside of African Prince and apprentice Blake Spriggs, picture Sporptix.com.au.
Their record since late-June now reads four races for three wins and a third placing, and even with 58kg to carry on Saturday in the $70,000, Daily Press Handicap (2000m) Hawk Island was totally in control of the race from start to finish under Schofield’s guidance.
The small field of six set off for the trip on the Heavy (10) with With A Chance and Tim Clark leading down the back straight with Schofield content to tuck in on the rails second last. He did not move until the 450m when he decided it was time to go wide to circle the field. They had levelled up with the field passing the 300m without effort.
Schofield eased Hawk Island out sufficiently to allow him to stride clear and although stablemate African Prince and apprentice Blake Spriggs, with his 2kg allowance giving weight relief off 53.5kg to give a large pull in the weights to the top weight, chased hard they could not match the leader.
Hawk Island won with 1 1/4L over African Prince (Johannesburg) who had 4 1/2L over Halfametreshort (NZ) (Carnegie) and Rod Quinn with 53kg. The time was 2.08.19 and the final 600m in 37.86. Hawk Island paid $2.40 on NSW TAB.
“We have probably run out of restricted grade races,” said Waller when considering a future move for Hawk Island.
“Today was a perfect race for him, this is his time of the year which us why he backed up so quickly. It was not our intention to back him but there was a lack of suitable races and there was the wet weather.
“He loves the wet tracks and I am not sure where we head to from here but we will look for more prize money,” he said.
Glyn Schofield, picture Sportpix.com.au.
Waller praised Schofield’s riding skills commenting that the stable trains in a manner that suits the senior jockey’s top line skills.
“Ninety percent of my horses are the same because it is similar to the way we work them in the mornings. They go quiet early and then they dash up basically over the last 200m which is basically their work,” he said.
“I think it needs a certain rider to have a horse travelling and no going under pressure too early and that is what Glyn does and it seems to really suit our style of horses. I am still learning the caper but I am adamant that certain jockeys suit certain training styles.
“As you saw then as they went slow he went earlier than instead of being flushed out and dictated too,” he said.
Hawk Island, out of the Sadler’s Wells mare Crimphill, cost £9,000 out of the UK with his travel to his new Australian base no doubt costing more, and for owner Ken Hunt he has proved to be an excellent purchase with six wins from 24 starts. With seven placings added stakes have increased to $254,747.
The win took Waller to 91 Sydney metropolitan winners for the season, a magnificent effort to be just six behind Darley’s Peter Snowden, and ahead of the perennially powerful Waterhouse stable with 73 wins.
Schofield’s recent winning run has taken him to fifth on the Big Brown Sydney Jockey Premiership with 55 winners for the season.
Chris Waller, four winners for the final day of the 2009/10 season, picture Sportpix.com.au.
Note: Schofield and Waller combined twice again on the programme, this time with the cerise of the Ingham’s.
First up was with We Betcha taking the $70,000, Threadbo Handicap (1400m) with the Ingham owned Encosta de Lago filly doing well to overcome Darley's Counterpane and Corey Brown – refer Glenn’s Moore’s separate report.
Then it was with Redoute’s Choice colt Sikka in the $70,000, Matrium Technologies Handicap (1350m).
Sikka had just the one win on his record before Saturday from 11 starts, but he finally got it together again on Saturday to pound the field into submission by 3 1/4L over Code Word (More Than Ready) with a further 1 1/2L to Speeding To Win (Redoute’s Choice).
“He (Waller) was pretty bullish that the horse has worked well during the week. In light of his indifferent run here the other day when I rode him, and previously when he put together a good second the start before that, today he just put it all together and won very well,” said Schofield.
“I think he is learning, he is thinking too much and he has got two stone that he could probably lose, and that is not weight, but certainly on today’s performance you could not knock him,” he added.
The Ingham’s have added 22 yearlings from the 2010 yearling sale series to Waller’s stable, and with Peter Snowden taking the 2009/10 trainers championship by four winners, the new season could see another titanic battle with plenty of quality horseflesh in both stables.
With Gai Waterhouse declaring that by her standards 73 Sydney winners in the disastrous zone the usual competitive nature of Sydney’s metropolitan racing will be a razor pitch for the entire season.
It might take Waterhouse a season to be competitive in the winter staying races after returning to buy New Zealand staying blood this year, which has been a staple part of Waller’s success, but the rest of her stable will all be placed into the cauldron against Waller and Snowden.
Glyn Schofield in the Ingham's cerise on Sikka, picture Sportpix.com.au.