IT was only a maiden hurdle win on a heavy track in the depth of winter, but champion jumps jockey Steven Pateman confidently predicts bigger things are in store for Big Blue.
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Having his first jumping start, Big Blue put in a couple of awkward jumps before defeating Darabad in a hurdle race over 3200 metre at Ballarat on Sunday.
The seven-year-old, who was formerly trained by James Cummings, had not raced for 35 weeks before making his winning jumping debut for the Maher-Eustace stable.
Pateman was impressed with Big Blue’s win at the all-jumps program.
“Big Blue could be anything,” he said.
“It was a big effort at his jumping debut. Big Blue is still raw.
“There’s a lot of improvement in him. He’ll learn a lot from this run.
“It was a great training performance by Ciaron and David to produce Big Blue to run well on a heavy track after so long off the track.
“Big Blue is in excellent hands. I think he will be a better steeplechaser.
“Ciaron’s record says it all, he’s an outstanding trainer of flat and jumping horses.
“I think Big Blue could develop into an ideal Grand Annual Steeplechase runner ... if not next year, he may be ready for 2020.”
Pateman has won the Grand Annual Steeplechase twice. He won with Al Garhood in 2011, while Awakening Dream was successful in 2012.
JACKSON PLEASED
POPULAR Warrnambool jumps jockey Shane Jackson credits hard work for his success in the 2018 jumps season.
The Irish-born Jackson has won two of the big jumping race features this year, namely the Brierly Steeplechase on Gold Medals and Cougar Express in the Grand National Hurdle.
“I’ve been happy with my form this season,” the 31-year-old said.
“I put my success down to hard work and the support of my family.
“It’s been my most successful season since we moved here six years ago.
“I’ve been lucky to have teamed up with Cougar Express for Jarrod McLean.
“My good luck came about because of bad luck to fellow jumps jockey Brad McLean, but that’s racing. It’s full of highs and lows.
“I’ve ridden a few jumpers for Darren Weir and I’ve got the support of the Wilde stable.
“I start work at 4.30am for six mornings in the week.
“There long hard days but I love my job.”
Jackson will ride for Ireland in the upcoming Australia-Irish jumps day at Morphettville on September 1.
NEST SCRATCHED
A HOOF abscess forced Koroit trainer James McNamara to scratch his veteran galloper Hornets’ Nest from the $125,000 Houlihan Hurdle at Ballarat on Sunday.
A disappointed McNamara said it was a bitter blow for Hornets’ Nest to miss the jumps feature.
“I thought I had Hornets’ Nest pretty right to run well in the Houlihan,” the Koroit hobby trainer said.
“The hoof abscess only surfaced on Thursday.
“The abscess has burst. I’m hoping to run him on the flat at Warrnambool this Thursday to prepare him for the hurdle races at Casterton and Coleraine next month.
“He’s fit and healthy so we’ll push on for the last two hurdle races in the season before looking at some of the minor flat country cups over the spring-summer period.”
Hornets’ Nest has won three of his 10 jumps starts.
EAGER RYAN
THE 2018 jumping season is fast coming to a close, but Warrnambool trainer Simon Ryan cannot wait for the 2019 season to begin. Evanesce won the marathon hurdle at Ballarat on Sunday for Ryan.
The former jumps jockey believes that the five-year-old mare may be a contender for next year’s Warrnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase.
“I was really impressed with Evanesce’s win at Ballarat,” he said.
“She’s won two of her last three hurdle races.
“She’s been in work for a long time, so we’ve sent her to the paddock for a well-deserved break.
“The Grand Annual is the race that I’ve got in mind for her. She can stay all day and handles it wet so she ticks a couple of important boxes.”
Tarquin, a new addition to Ryan’s stable joins handy jumpers Police Camp and Dormello Mo, who will be aimed at some of next year’s jumping features.
“We’ve got Tarquin in the stable,” he said.
“He’s a nice type of horse. We’ve got nothing planned for him at this stage.
“But a jumps career may be on the agenda.
“We had to give our handy jumper Dormello Mo a break following a paddock accident.
“He’ll be ready for the minor jumps races next season and Police Camp has put in a couple of handy runs over the jumps.
“He’s another one that may be aimed at next year’s Grand Annual.
“I think next year I’ll probably have six jumpers in my stable.
“I’m really looking forward to next season already it can’t come around quick enough.”
From his last 12 runners, Ryan has trained three winners.
YOGI’S BACK
Yogi resumed with a sensational run at Caulfield.
He was well back early before coming with a cracking run to finish second to his stablemate Plein Ciel.
Both Weir-trained horses should win nice races over the spring.