Rock On
Troy Leggett (Race Images Palmerston North)
The Gary Vile trained Rock On confirmed his reputation as a stayer on the rise as he produced a devastating late burst to score a convincing victory at Trentham on Saturday.
Beautifully handled by rider Jonathan Riddell, Rock On was tardily away in the BJW Motors sponsored 2300 metre event but soon recovered to sit just beyond midfield in the early stages of the contest. A muddling speed saw a number of contenders take their chance in front with the numerous lead changes conspiring to shuffle Rock On to the rear of the field.
Angled to the outer on the point of the home turn the Road To Rock gelding wound up beautifully as Riddell timed their final charge to perfection to score handsomely by a widening half length margin at the post.
Vile admitted he had his doubts about the win when his charge was shuffled back at a vital stage.
"I have to be honest I was a bit nervous around the 600 metre mark as he hadn't moved on him," he admitted.
"But he must have known he was going alright!"
The four-year-old gelding has been a work in progress for Vile for quite some time with the Awapuni based mentor taking a cautious approach with him as he works through the grades.
"I've pulled him out of the Wellington Cup as while I think physically he is okay, to mentally go two miles at the moment would just be a little too much," he said.
"He's only a four-year-old but if everything goes right he'll be back here for the Summer Cup and then we'll see from there.
"Two months is a long time in a horse's life so we could be looking at the Auckland Cup in March." – NZ Racing Desk
Beautifully handled by rider Jonathan Riddell, Rock On was tardily away in the BJW Motors sponsored 2300 metre event but soon recovered to sit just beyond midfield in the early stages of the contest. A muddling speed saw a number of contenders take their chance in front with the numerous lead changes conspiring to shuffle Rock On to the rear of the field.
Angled to the outer on the point of the home turn the Road To Rock gelding wound up beautifully as Riddell timed their final charge to perfection to score handsomely by a widening half length margin at the post.
Vile admitted he had his doubts about the win when his charge was shuffled back at a vital stage.
"I have to be honest I was a bit nervous around the 600 metre mark as he hadn't moved on him," he admitted.
"But he must have known he was going alright!"
The four-year-old gelding has been a work in progress for Vile for quite some time with the Awapuni based mentor taking a cautious approach with him as he works through the grades.
"I've pulled him out of the Wellington Cup as while I think physically he is okay, to mentally go two miles at the moment would just be a little too much," he said.
"He's only a four-year-old but if everything goes right he'll be back here for the Summer Cup and then we'll see from there.
"Two months is a long time in a horse's life so we could be looking at the Auckland Cup in March." – NZ Racing Desk