Irish Moon
Trish Dunell
Matamata trainer Ken Kelso cuts a frustrated figure when discussing the future prospects of his class sprinter Irish Moon.
Kelso and wife Bev produced the O'Reilly gelding to score a tenacious victory in open company at Pukekohe on Saturday just a week after he travelled to Trentham in the hope of gaining a start in the Gr. 1 Telegraph. The second emergency didn't gain the two scratchings he needed to make the field for the elite event which has Kelso bemoaning the fate of his charge who is in "no man's land" when it comes to gaining a start in events run under set weights and penalties conditions.
"I just don't know what to do with this guy as he is in an impossible spot," he explained.
"He is super consistent and for that he is rated at the top of most handicaps. However with the trend to running so many of our better races under set weights and penalties he finds it hard to get a start.
"Because he doesn't have any black type form he is balloted out like he was at Trentham last week. It's hard to explain to his owners how he has to lug 60kgs due to his rating one week and then can't get a start the next.
"He will probably cop another two or more rating points for this win. We'd like to go to the Darley Plate at Ellerslie but that's set weights as well so he probably won't get in there either unless they don't get a full field."
Despite his frustration Kelso was rapt to get the victory as he believed the seven-year-old gelding was deserving of the success.
"He hasn't gone a bad race this time in," he said.
"Last time in the Railway he had to work overtime to lead from his draw and didn't chuck it away at all in the straight. He only just got nabbed the start before that so we thought he deserved a win today."
Kelso will let the dust settle from this win before deciding on the next target for the gelding although a run on his home track at Matamata on the 11th of February is a distinct possibility. – NZ Racing Desk
Kelso and wife Bev produced the O'Reilly gelding to score a tenacious victory in open company at Pukekohe on Saturday just a week after he travelled to Trentham in the hope of gaining a start in the Gr. 1 Telegraph. The second emergency didn't gain the two scratchings he needed to make the field for the elite event which has Kelso bemoaning the fate of his charge who is in "no man's land" when it comes to gaining a start in events run under set weights and penalties conditions.
"I just don't know what to do with this guy as he is in an impossible spot," he explained.
"He is super consistent and for that he is rated at the top of most handicaps. However with the trend to running so many of our better races under set weights and penalties he finds it hard to get a start.
"Because he doesn't have any black type form he is balloted out like he was at Trentham last week. It's hard to explain to his owners how he has to lug 60kgs due to his rating one week and then can't get a start the next.
"He will probably cop another two or more rating points for this win. We'd like to go to the Darley Plate at Ellerslie but that's set weights as well so he probably won't get in there either unless they don't get a full field."
Despite his frustration Kelso was rapt to get the victory as he believed the seven-year-old gelding was deserving of the success.
"He hasn't gone a bad race this time in," he said.
"Last time in the Railway he had to work overtime to lead from his draw and didn't chuck it away at all in the straight. He only just got nabbed the start before that so we thought he deserved a win today."
Kelso will let the dust settle from this win before deciding on the next target for the gelding although a run on his home track at Matamata on the 11th of February is a distinct possibility. – NZ Racing Desk