A record-breaking hurdle win to Black And Bent was the highlight of a winning treble for Robert Smerdon at Sandown on a day when Peter Moody also trained a milestone first jumps winner.
Smerdon and Moody both prepared winning trebles on Wednesday’s 11-race card, showing their versatility as trainers with winners over both the jumps and on the flat.
Black And Bent claimed an Australian record 10th successive jumps win with a nine-length success in the Jack Dow Memorial Hurdle (3300m), passing the 1969 feat of nine straight by Lots Of Time.
The seven-year-old, who has come back from a career-threatening injury and was making his first appearance over the jumps in more than a year, was the opening leg of Smerdon’s treble.
Kirribilli Gold claimed a narrow win in the Great Southern Steeplechase (3300m) before three-year-old Cooldini powered through the heavy conditions to win by 12 lengths in the San Remo Hotel Handicap (2400m).
“I was thrilled to see the hurdler (Black And Bent) do what he did today,” Smerdon said.
“It would have been disappointing to see him go so close and get beaten. The fact he won made the day pretty good.
“He’s come back off the canvas to achieve this so it’s a really good accolade for the horse.”
Leading jumps jockey Steven Pateman said the champion hurdler had returned to jumping “better than ever”.
Moody, meanwhile, landed a milestone first jumps win when he prepared Macedonian to score by a massive 20 lengths in his jumping debut.
Macedonian’s win in the maiden hurdle over 3300m was a perfect comeback for jockey Joseph Hateley who hadn’t ridden in a race for more than a decade and who is a professionally-trained ballet dancer.
With a first jumps winner ticked off his list, Moody then built on his Melbourne trainers’ premiership lead with Aliberani and Magniloquent.
Aliberani was too strong in the Slickpix Handicap (1600m) while Magniloquent held off the Smerdon-trained Electric Fusion in the Browns Sawdust and Shavings Handicap (1800m).
