Te Akau jumper Leaderboard is set to head to the Warrnambool carnival later this month following his triumph in the Open Steeplechase (3250m) at Ballarat on Sunday.
The 10-year-old son of Street Cry, who is raced by syndicator Fortuna, won seven races on the flat in New Zealand, including the Group 3 Wellington Cup (3200m) and Listed New Zealand St Leger (2600m).
He then transferred to Te Akau’s Cranbourne base where he has added three further wins to his tally, along with placings in last year’s Grand National Hurdle (4200m) and Grand National Steeplechase (4500m).
Trainer Mark Walker was pleased with his winning performance on Sunday and is looking forward to tackling some feature jumping assignments at Warrnambool, including the Brierley Chase (3450m) and Grand Annual Steeplechase (5500m).
“It was a brilliant win,” Walker said. “He’s a terrific jumper and it’s great to see him back at the races and win the way he did.
“It’s all systems go towards the Warrnambool carnival, and he looks as though he’s in for another really good season.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him again at Warrnambool. It’s a unique carnival and it’ll great to be a part of it.”
Prior to the two assignments at Warrnambool, Fortuna’s John Galvin said the plan was for Leaderboard to back-up in the Spencer Memorial Steeplechase (4000m) at Pakenham this coming Sunday.
“I don’t think that will worry him and after that he’ll go to the Warrnambool carnival,” Galvin said. “I think Mark (Walker) has got the base fitness into him.
“It was a lovely ride by Will (Gordon) and kudos to Mark and Ben (Gleeson, assistant trainer), they’ve prepared the horse beautifully, and Mark loves his jumpers.
“We’ve owned him since 2018 and he’s a marvel, really. He had a wonderful period of flat racing and was very consistent provided he got yielding tracks, but his future was always going to be as a jumper when he wasn’t so competitive on the flat.
“Mark’s got a few jumpers in his stable, with Prismatic and The Mighty Spar, and Leaderboard has become the flagbearer with the successes he’s had.”
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