Topweight Nedwin showed there is simply no quit in his make up as he unleashed an outstanding finishing burst to capture his second Wellington Hurdles (3200m) at Trentham.
Supporters of the Paul Nelson and Corrina McDougal stable had two options to choose from in the race and many put their faith in up and comer Taika, who started a +120 favourite with horse racing bookmakers, ahead of his stablemate (+660) with the Kevin Myers-trained Invisible Spirit splitting the pair at +400.
Nedwin was burdened with 73kgs, six-and-a-half kilograms more than his nearest rival and despite Nelson providing some encouragement when noting he was coming into form, he looked a forlorn chance as the two favourites did battle out in front throughout the early stages of the contest.
Coming to the home turn, Nedwin looked to be struggling five lengths behind the leading pair, however rider Jay Kozaczek refused to give in as he urged Nedwin to close on the leaders which he began to do noticeably with two hurdles to clear.
Nedwin had a full head of steam as he strode over the final obstacle and raced away to record his seventh victory over hurdles ahead of Invisible Spirit who shaded Taika for second.
Nelson was understandably emotional after the win by the nine-year-old son of Niagara.
“With that weight I didn’t give him a show against Taika as I thought he would be struggling,” Nelson said.
“It has taken a while, and we knew we were a bit behind (in his preparation) early on, but we have him right now.
“This is very exciting for our winter followers, and we take a lot of pleasure out of that.
“Taika is still only a young horse, who has only won two races, but he will keep.”
Kozaczek was in awe of the fighting qualities of his mount.
“That was amazing,” he said.
“He just kept finding and we had those two to aim for.
“They ran along strongly and maybe too quick as it is very sticky, but he just kept finding.
“I was squeezing him along and he got there.”
Bred by Tom Lowry, who sadly passed away recently, Nedwin is owned by Nelson and his wife Carol along with Mick and Suzie Gardner with the gelding having now won seven races over hurdles along with another six on the flat and over $374,000 in prizemoney.
Horse racing news
