Co-trainer David Eustace got a huge thrill out of the staying win of Wil John at Bendigo.
Trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace had five winners across three venues on Saturday and it was the victory at a provincial venue that brought a smile to the younger trainer’s face.
A treble at Flemington was complimented by a stakes race win at Eagle Farm, but the victory of Wil John at in the Apiam Animal Health Handicap (3600m) at Bendigo was extra special.
It earned Wil John a start in the Jericho Cup, Australia’s longest flat race, at Warrnambool in December.
But the win was also a part of getting Wil John in peak conditions for the upcoming jumps racing with a race at Warrnambool on June 17 having been picked out.
“That was terrific,” Eustace said.
“He’s an absolute star and a genuine stayer. I reckon it’s his best performance in that he travelled really well and was bobbing away with little Josh Richards on his back.
“He’ll go over hurdles again but what he’ll be is a good ‘chaser and, we hope, a Grand Annual Steeplechase horse.
“He stays and he’s got lots of scope, a great big horse and he’ll jump those fences.”
Eustace said Wil John would remain in training at the conclusion of the jumps season in August to concentrate on the Jericho Cup, a race he finished third in last year.
He said keeping jumpers, and stayers, in work was important for their longevity.
“If you give them a long break, these stayers, it takes them forever to get back up to that level again,” Eustace said.
“And that is how they do injuries.
“When he ran in the Jericho (last year) he then had ten days in the paddock and we chipped away with him again, so it is the way to do it, really.
“Coming back after six weeks off they can end up injuring themselves, doing a ligament just getting fit again, so I think it works.”
