CHRISTMAS has come a little ahead of schedule for Swan Hill trainer Nathan Hobson – he found back-to-back wins in the Santa stockings he had just hung from the mantelpiece above his fireplace.And it’s made him so happy, everyone at his stables has been a winner too – he’s announced two weeks of shutdown after Boxing Day to give them and the horses a mini spell in the paddock.
But the weekend didn’t start exactly as he had hoped, with two very near misses at Moonee Valley on Friday night leaving the trainer a little frustrated.
In the fifth at the Valley, his Reward With Return with Craig Robertson in the saddle finished third, just half a length behind winner Titans.
Then in the last of the night, Hobson’s Rock Tycoon got within a photo finish of grabbing the 1200m win from Show Some Decorum which, in the end, showed no mercy (to complete a Swan Hill bridesmaid’s affair, Con Kelly’s Spanish Snitzel also finished second by a bee’s whisker to Just Stellar over a mile in the fourth of the night).
Hoping for more luck the next day, Hobson loaded the float and headed for the Benalla Twilight meeting with four aboard – and the nightmare looked set to continue when in the fifth his starter Malauka (with Nathan Punch doing the steering) failed by centimetres from winning.
But another day, as they say in racing, can be another dollar; and in about 1:25.83 minutes the bad day (from the day before) was turned on its head as Hobson’s five-year-old gelding Orienzel swept to victory in the last at the Benalla twilight races on Saturday.
And winning comfortably to allow its owners (we’ll call them ‘the Hobson family’) to pocket the $11,000 winner’s cheque in time for some late Christmas shopping if necessary.
Then it was another day again, and Hobson was at another track again (we’ll call this one ‘Horsham’), and had just watched the Coffey stable land two thirds in the first two races.
It was that, ‘here we go again for Swan Hill stables’ sinking feeling.
But the worrying start to the day was turned on its head as Hobson’s six-year-old gelding, Highway To Success, racked up the ninth win of its 67-race career for his owners.
It was a grand finale to the end of the first half of the racing year; with winners on Friday and Saturday and no more runners until the stable holiday is over in mid January.
“We’ve got nothing much planned before New Year’s Eve, and then I plan to have runners at Moonee Valley and at Echuca’s big show night,” Hobson said this week.
“The only other meeting I’ll be having between now and then is Kerang on Boxing Day; and we’ll be taking a truckload to that one to see if we can give it a bit of a charge.
“That might include Rock Tycoon, I just haven’t quite finalised that yet; but expect that’s what we’ll do.”
However, Hobson was very happy to talk about what he had done more so than what he might do, starting with Benalla’s twilight meeting on Saturday, with Hobson forced to chew his nails until the final race of the evening, in which gun young jockey Daniel Stackhouse turned on a masterclass of patience and then power.
Sitting midfield on Orienzel for much of the 1406m journey, without any panic or pushing as they swung around the back turn, Stackhouse eased off the fence and timed his arrival at a split in the front pack.
Still showing no great urgency, as the horses straightened, Stackhouse and Orienzel suddenly found themselves with clear air and they quickly ran down the favourite – and simply kept going.
Running away with Hobson’s first winner of the weekend; and promising of better things to come – and they did.
And Highway To Success was top of that list because he had not expected her to go that well before the field jumped – but he looked a goer from the get go.
The well-backed favourite In The Sun wrestled the lead from Highway and his jockey Tahlia Hope, but after setting up a two-length gap early in the 1100m dash, Hope quickly pushed her horse up to be sitting just off the pace.
When the leader appeared to be given a breather going around the back turn, Hope decided to go for broke; hit the lead and was never headed.
“I was not all that confident going on his recent form,” Hobson said.
“But he might just also be one of those slightly annoying horses who like just one or two tracks; and in his case that would be Horsham, he’s won there before in a BM64, and maybe Broken Hill, where he also excels.
“Overall though, I guess it’s handy we have the 0-58 class in the system; it keeps horses like this one in a job.”
Hobson was also full of praise for apprentice Tahlia Hope, who had quickly assessed how the race might unfold, seeing her ease off the lead to take a sit behind the front-running favourite.
“I have had a bit of luck when Tahlia has been on one of our horses; and she delivered again today with a good ride,” Hobson said.
“The real trick is to know where to take this fella next.
“He travels well – they pretty well have to when they are based at country tracks – and there is a BM70 mile coming up at Flemington which we might take a closer look at.”
Hobson said he is now focused on Boxing Day at Kerang, where he says he will be taking a truckload of the 17 horses currently in work.
“From there our next outings will be the Valley and Echuca – both on New Year’s Eve,” he said.
“And that should keep me pretty busy because after Boxing Day I have given everyone two weeks off, so I will be the one organising all the travel, and might even double as strapper!”
