Brucey Lee (NZ) (U S Navy Flag) made the seven-hour round trip from Ruakaka worthwhile for trainer Kim Knight on Wednesday when taking out the TAB 2000 at Cambridge Synthetic.
The son of U S Navy Flag had placed in his previous start over 2100m on his home track earlier this month and Knight was confident of an improved result despite his topweight of 60kg.
Punters shared her thoughts and backed him into $4.40 favouritism, and he didn’t disappoint, running out a one-length victor over fellow Northland raider Richie’s Dream.
“I made sure he was really fit going into it. It was good, we got what we came for,” Knight said.
“He works on the beach every day and I ride him myself, except for his gallops, and he keeps on improving.
“Weight doesn’t seem to bother him either. He carried 60kg and he was probably the smallest horse in the field.”
The four-year-old gelding has predominantly raced at Ruakaka and Cambridge Synthetic, with Knight wanting to keep him to better tracks for now.
“He is only a little fella and I am just trying to place him right. I have to give him a bit of time because he needs to get stronger,” she said.
“He handles any kind of going but he needed to get strong enough to get through softer tracks. He doesn’t seem to mind Good tracks and the synthetic.
“Lynsey (Satherley, jockey) said yesterday that he seems to be getting stronger, so that was good to hear.”
Knight has believed her charge was an out-and-out stayer all along and she is pleased she followed her judgment.
“He has been with me since he was two-year-old,” she said. “He is bred to sprint, but he didn’t give me the impression that he was a sprinter, so we have just given him more time to go over more ground. He has got some heart and it is good to get one with some heart.”
Knight has had a lifelong involvement in racing, having caught the bug early through her jockey father, Peter Knight, and she has enjoyed following her passion, taking out a trainer’s license just over a decade ago and she has recorded 12 wins in that time.
“My Dad, Peter Knight, was a jockey and I have been around horses all of my life,” she said. “I got involved in training and pre-training and I worked for Donna Logan for 20 years riding work and on the ground. It has always been my passion.
“He (Brucey Lee) is the only one I have in work at the moment, but I have got a few young ones going around, so I am looking forward to them.”
