The term ‘old warhorse’ is often bandied around with a bit more regularly than it should be if the description is to remain accurate but, every now and again, a horse does come along where that description fits like a glove … and such a horse will be in action at Eagle Farm in the seventh race on Saturday.
The Gary Clem trained King Klaus has a strike-rate to die for. The now eight-year-old has won fourteen of his twenty-eight starts … that is an easy calculation to a fifty percent winning strike rate … and he also has six minor placings to his credit.
That relatively low number of starts underlines just how well Clem has managed the career of the tough-as-teak son of Love Conquers All since his debut all of the way back in February 2020.
It is quite incredible that at this stage of his career King Klaus will be going out looking to land a third successive win when he lines up on Saturday … and, yes, sure, the metropolitan class contest is going to be a more difficult task to negotiate than his recent last two wins in Open Handicaps at the Sunshine Coast and Rockhampton, but toughness is his middle name with the ‘old warhorse’ tag aptly summing up King Klaus’s almost unfailing commitment to knuckle down, to give of his best and to make other horses earn the win if they are going to beat him to the line.
Dale Smith, who has ridden King Klaus in two of his last four starts for two wins, has nothing but admiration for Bundaberg’s much travelled star performer, who has victories behind his name at Doomben, Eagle Farm, the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Gladstone and, of course, at his home track at Bundaberg.
“The best way to describe him is he is tough and tenacious. He just never lays down, “said Smith, who will again be in the saddle on Saturday, “and saying he is a warhorse would be right”
“He is quite unbelievable actually. Having that toughness … that will-to-win … coupled with a high cruising speed makes him a really formidable racehorse. The 63kg he carried in his last win at Rockhampton … I mean, wow, it takes a good horse and a mighty effort to do that” (For the record, King Klaus is down 6kg in the weights for this Saturday’s assignment).
Smith also had praise for the King Klaus team of Gary Clem and Angie Bloom.
“Gary has done a super job with King Klaus., managing the horse to perfection. He just loves the horse but, as importantly, he is also a star as a person. It’s the same with Angie. They are very humble, and they pass on all of those good, loving and caring qualities, for example, to our daughter, who has become instilled with the love of the horse, at least in part, because of the influence of the way of Gary and Angie go about things. She talks about it all the time.
“They stay with Melissa (Taylor) and I when they come down here and we absolutely consider them as family. They are family to us. We are all just the best of mates.
So will there be a ‘family’ celebration on Saturday.
We’ll find out shortly after 3.15pm when the seventh race will have been decided in a race where King Klaus has seven runners to beat.
What we do know is that he will give it a real go, so, if you are looking for a horse almost certainly to give you a run for your money, the $10 about King Klaus’s chances looks to be an enticing each way bet.
