Fourteen months after a race fall at Gosford, Skytrain rediscovered his confidence to score his first black-type win in Saturday’s Listed Show County Quality.
Skytrain was in a purple patch of form during winter last year but fell in the Listed Takeover Target Stakes that June and hadn’t been the same horse since.
Skytrain rediscovered his confidence to score his first black-type win in Saturday's Listed Show County Quality - Photo by Steve Hart
Trainer Peter Snowden gave the six-year-old a searching barrier trial at Warwick Farm on August 11 and the near five-length victory proved the catalyst to his long head win in the Show County Quality (1200m) at Warwick Farm.
Skytrain ($7.50) defeated well-supported favourite Winter King ($2.40) with Neeson ($6.50) another 1-3/4 lengths away third.
“This is very pleasing for me with this horse because he’s been through a lot of adversity,” Snowden said.
“It has taken a long time to get his confidence back and to me his last start behind a good horse (Rain Affair) was OK but he trialled particularly well here (last week) and that was the first sign of him being back to his old self.
“He brought that here today.”
Skytrain was ridden to victory in the Show County by Darley’s stable jockey Kerrin McEvoy who suffered a fractured vertebra in his back in the Gosford fall last year which put the hoop out of action for four months.
Skytrain had raced five times since last year’s Takeover Target Stakes without success before Saturday’s breakthrough.
“The idea in the trial the other day was to give him a kill and make him do it,” Snowden said.
“He might go on from here although it’s a tough time now as it’s only going to get harder over the next six weeks.
“But he’s got one under his belt now anyway which is good.”
Winter King ran his usual honest race while Neeson pleased jockey Christian Reith with his second-up third.
“He was just one run short, when he gets to seven furlongs (1400m) next time he’ll be ready,” Reith said.
The hard luck story of the race was Thankgodyou’rehere who finished fifth after coming out a clear last after a mix-up at the gates.
Jockey Rod Quinn told stewards that he “wasn’t quite on the horse” at the time the barriers opened.
“I called out is Rod Quinn right and someone called out yes,” starter Bill Dale told stewards.
“As you can see he has come out ordinary.”
AAP TURF
