SWAN Hill trainer Nathan Hobson must be thanking the quirkiness of country tracks that turn 1600 metres – the classic mile – into 1624m because of their configuration.
Because when the field jumped for the $35,000 Petrogas Plate at Donald on Sunday, his horse Moxatation showed absolutely no interest in taking part in the day’s racing.
When jockey Jack Hill finally persuaded the four-year-old gelding to get going, he looked like he wasn’t going anywhere at any great rate of knots.
“Last start, from an inside gate, I was mindful of him missing the kick but he jumped all right then. But today he sort of did exactly what I was expecting last time and he missed it by half a length,” Hill said.
“It put us out the back of the race and after 100m I pretty well thought I’d stuffed it up and we didn’t have much hope.”
However, Hobson said he wasn’t surprised by the delayed start, putting it down as “just him” when talking about his winner.
He said Hill’s ride aside, a lot of the credit for the win had to go to his team at home, doing all the trackwork, as they had told him the horse had been going really well.
“Maybe we are starting to work him out a bit, and he certainly likes tracks with a bit of give in them,” Hobson added.
“When Jack rode him last at Bendigo he said we should step him up to a mile and he got it right.
“It was a great effort to make up all that ground. He might even get out further yet, so we’ll have a look at that, but it was good to get the win.”
The win had even Hill a little nonplussed on returning to the mounting yard.
“After I had walked the track before, I knew if you were on the inside you wanted to stay there, and the same if you were on the outside, because if you weren’t on the inside or outside fence, the rest was all chopped up,” he said.
“When he started to get carted into the running I probably went a tad early on him, but I had to get him motivated into the race and he was pretty good going to the line.
“I said to Nathan he wants 2000 (metres) because he’ll stay all day, and he relaxes and when you ask him to quicken he does.”
Good plan, so long as that 2000 is 2024m, because on Sunday Moxatation needed every one of the extra 24m to get up by 24cm and break his maiden at start No.11.
