He was on board Group 1 winner Savatoxl when the Will Savage-trained seven-year-old gelding saluted in his long-waited Alice Springs comeback on Saturday.
Now Red Centre apprentice Ianish Luximon has his fingers crossed he will partner the NT champion who is seemingly bound for the $100,000 Pioneer Sprint (1200m) on Sunday.
Savatoxl, the winner of the Goodwood (1200m) in Adelaide in May 2021, has been allocated 63kg for the race on Alice Springs Cup Day at Pioneer Park – 4.5kg more than what he lumped on the weekend.
Should he start, the son of Kuroshio will aim to improve on his fifth in the 2020 Pioneer Sprint.
After finishing sixth in the 2020 Darwin Cup, Savatoxl farewelled the NT and headed interstate where he also won the Group 2 Schillaci Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield and Group 3 McKay Stakes (1100m) at Morphettville.
He finished last as a three-year-old at Eagle Farm in May 2019, but in 18 starts in the NT after making his debut as a two-year-old in Alice Springs in March 2018 he recorded 12 wins from 1000-1600m.
Significantly, he was second in the 2019 NT Derby (2000m) at Fannie Bay.
Any wonder he has amassed $965,000 in stakes and any wonder his appearance on Day 3 of the Alice Springs Cup Carnival generated immense excitement before winning over 1200m at weight-for-age – he won the same race three years ago.
Understandably, Luximon had the jitters leading up to the race, which happened to be Savatoxl’s first start since finishing 10th in the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley last October.
He was the $2.40 favourite on Saturday.
“I knew I was going to ride him and the pressure was on before the race,” Luximon said.
“I could barely sleep at night and I was just thinking, oh, if I get beaten on that horse that wouldn’t be good.
“I’m the only one who has ridden him in track work since he returned to Alice Springs.
“Thankfully everything went as planned, but Expert Witness on my outside ran a good race for second.
“The feelings he gave me on Saturday, it was very different.
“I felt very emotional passing the winning post.
“He’s a big boy, strong – he did whatever he wanted to and just kept going.
“Not sure yet if I’m going to ride him on Sunday.”
It was a red-letter day for the 25-year-old from Mauritius, who arrived in Alice Springs via Asia and Tasmania, as he picked up his first ever winning treble.
After the Savatoxl experience, Luximon guided Rupert’s Delight to victory for his master Kevin Lamprecht before prevailing on Equal Balance for SA trainer Kym Healy.
The fast-finishing Rupert’s Delight ($5.50) nailed runaway leader A Thousand Degrees right on the line, while Equal Balance ($10) gave runaway leader Sadler’s Song a fair start at the 400m before hitting the front at the 200m with $1.90 betting site favourite Miracoli rattling home for second.
And Luximon came within a whisker of winning the $40,000 Chief Ministers Cup (1600m) on Savage’s Fantasy Eagle ($26), who finished second by less than a length behind Phil Cole’s $2.60 favourite Saccharo (Wayne Davis).
“It was a good day and I’m very happy – the trainers were happy too,” he said.
“I won’t forget, especially after also getting to ride Savatoxl and to get my first win on the horse.
“I try my best on every single horse I ride, but I have been struggling a bit lately to ride winners.
“I didn’t expect it, but it can happen if you get the right horse in the race – you get a bit more confidence.
“Riding a treble is very hard, but it’s good to do it during Carnival.
“I only ride work for Kevin, Will and Kym at the moment, so it’s good to win a race for them.
“Rupert’s Delight has been knocking on the door, but he was hard work – I didn’t think I would catch the leader.”
There were a host of unusual incidents at Pioneer Park on the weekend such as a horse breaking through the gates, a horse getting wedged in the barriers after sitting down and another horse jumping from the machine minus its rider.
In Equal Balance’s race, Oddsock reared when the field was released dislodging jockey Casey Hunter and escaping through the back of the barriers before bolting in the opposite direction.
The race proceeded with Oddsock pulling up on the outside fence at the top of the home straight.
“I get to the 400m near the home turn and I see a loose horse,” Luximon said.
“No one knew otherwise we would have pulled up, but we didn’t and lucky no one got hurt.
“I’ve never seen that happen before, it was a surprise, no one knew what was happening.”
In the order of entry for the $110,000 Alice Springs Cup (2000m), Fantasy Eagle (54kg) is currently equal 10th – Saccharo (59.5kg) tops the list – and with 12 runners lining up in the Red Centre’s biggest race it seems certain the six-year-old gelding will start with Luximon likely to secure the ride.
“Fantasy Eagle has had two wins and eight seconds in 14 starts in Alice Springs – he’s in the money most of the time,” he said.
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