Black And Bent equalled Lots Of Time’s record for the most successive wins by a jumper when he chalked up his ninth straight victory in the Galleywood Hurdle at Warrnambool on Wednesday.
Steven Pateman was relieved to have won the $100,000 feature for the first time after several attempts while trainer Robert Smerdon continued his clean sweep of the four jumps races run at the May carnival.
“He didn’t win as easily as he usually wins but he did it tough,” Pateman said.
“He had to make a long run and it made it look like he’d had enough, but I think if he had to pull out something extra he could have.
“He’s a real racehorse. He’s won 19 races now. He knows where the winning post is.”
Sent out the $1.40 favourite, Black And Bent landed his second Galleywood (3200m) having won the race two years ago – the second victory in his nine-race winning sequence.
The gelding has won 12 of his 18 hurdle starts and over $640,000 prizemoney in jumps races alone.
“He’s a standout,” said Smerdon, who also won the Brierly Steeplechase on Tuesday with the promising Fareer.
“He covered the ground and did the work and I really rate the second horse (Gotta Take Care).
“Lots Of Time did it through the handicap system where he just kept climbing in weight and I don’t think you could do that these days. The weight would kill you but he (Black And Bent) has done a great job.”
Smerdon said the six-year-old would try to better the record of consecutive jumps wins in an open hurdle over 3300m at Mornington on May 20.
Black And Bent gave Gotta Take Care ($7.50) a four kilo weight advantage under the set weights plus penalties conditions and held the Darren Weir-trained jumper by 1-1/4 lengths.
The John Wheeler-trained Seeking The Silver ($41) was seven lengths away third.
Smerdon rates Black And Bent as superior to former stable star Some Are Bent who won 12 of his 25 jumps which netted him just over $950,000 prizemoney.
But he said Zabenz, the 2002 Grand National Hurdle winner who later won a Grade One steeplechase at Saratoga for Smerdon, was the best he’d had.
“Zabenz was outstanding. He only had three runs (over jumps) in Australia and he won a National,” Smerdon said.
“Had he stayed here he would have been a freak.
“Some Are Bent was a reckless jumper, but this bloke is a careful jumper and if you put them in the same race Black And Bent would beat him.
“Some Are Bent was a very resilient horse and was hard to run down.”
