Trainer Pat Duff heeded sage advice from a famous country jockey to help Steel Zip win the battle of the veterans in the Listed Keith Noud Handicap at Doomben.
Ridden a daring race by 54-year-old Jeff Lloyd, Steel Zip ($4.20) got up by a nose to beat Top Tone ($12) who was ridden by 68-year-old Tony Erhart.
Steel Zip is eight years old but has never raced better, having won four of his past five starts and finishing second in the other.
“I have had a lot of success with old horses because I always remember some advice from one of the legends of Queensland country racing, jockey Les Hone,” Duff said.
“Les said with old horses you just had to keep them fit by walking and let them do their own thing. Steel Zip loves the beach and does about eight kilometres most days.”
Hone rode for decades at Queensland bush meetings where he was considered a great horseman.
It was an emotional win for Duff because Steel Zip was the last horse owned by his late wife Dina.
“Dina died only a few weeks before Steel Zip won the Keith Noud three years ago. It was a great thrill to win it again,” Duff said.
Lloyd paid tribute to Steel Zip and also to Erhart.
“I have never been so happy and yet so sad yet to win. Tony is an inspiration to us all,” Lloyd said.
Trainer Tony Gollan, who earlier won with impressive two-year-old Zelady’s Night Out, intends to step up Secret Saga ($2) in class after she won the Bronxnation Handicap (1050m).
“Secret Saga isn’t a Magic Millions horse so she will run in the Mode Plate in a fortnight and then on to the Gold Edition Plate two weeks after that,” Gollan said.
“I have always had a big opinion of this filly and she pulled shoe when she was unplaced at her last start in Sydney.”
