Talented three-year-old Hokkaido overcame a rocky run to score an impressive victory in the A$150,000 Precise Air Handicap (1300m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
A late-finishing eighth on his Australian debut at Randwick late last month, the New Zealand-bred son of Satono Aladdin took a big step forward second-up.
With Kathy O’Hara in the saddle, Hokkaido was checked soon after leaving the starting gates and dropped out to the tail of the nine-horse field.
Checked again when he was starting to warm up in the home straight, Hokkaido regathered himself and produced an impressive finishing burst to edge out Gracilistyla in a tight finish.
“That was a very good win,” O’Hara said. “The tempo was quick, but he got a bit of a check coming out of the gates and was on the back foot. He was going to be off the bit early in the race anyway, but it probably put him two lengths even further back than he would have been.
“And then again in the straight, the horse underneath him just wobbled around a little bit as we were starting to hit top gear. So for him to just brush it off, gather himself back up again and hit the line as well as he did is impressive.
“He reeled off some good sectionals late. He’s a smart horse with a lot of upside.
“He’s not overly big, but he uses himself well. He’s got a good action and big length of stride for a horse his size.
“He gave me a nice feel when he let go. Joe (Pride, trainer) obviously has an opinion of him, and I can see why.”
Hokkaido was bred by Dr John O’Brien in partnership with Gary Vile, who trained him from his Awapuni base for the first three starts of his career. The gelding was a debut winner at Otaki in April, then finished sixth and third in his other two New Zealand starts.
From five career starts, Hokkaido has now recorded two wins and a third, earning A$86,087 in stakes.
Hokkaido’s dam is the Gold Centre mare Justlikeyasister, who won five races and is the dam of two winners from two foals to race.
