Riviera Rebel has been a special horse for rookie trainer Brooke Kincaid, who had her first taste of black-type success in Saturday’s Group 3 Canterbury Gold Cup (2000m) at Riccarton.
Kincaid went into partnership with Riverton trainer Graham Eade at the beginning of this season. Riviera Rebel quickly became her first winner with a Rating 75 victory at Riccarton on August 10, and on Saturday the talented gelding was in the spotlight again as he provided her sixth and most significant training success.
“It’s amazing,” Kincaid said. “This horse gave me my very first winner as a trainer, and now he’s given me my first Group win too. It’s very special.”
Riviera Rebel followed his August victory at Riccarton with open handicap successes in the Tapanui Cup (1200m) at Riverton in January and the Hororata Gold Cup (1800m) at Riccarton in March. He was unplaced over 1200m at Riverton last weekend, but relished the step up to 2000m for Saturday’s $120,000 weight-for-age feature.
Jockey Kylie Williams took up a handy position in third behind Taimate Diva and Master Marko. The field fanned out all the way across the track coming around the home turn, but Williams stuck to the rail and didn’t go around a single horse.
Riviera Rebel slid through the inside and hit the front at the top of the straight. Harlech emerged as the main threat on the opposite side of the track, but Riviera Rebel kept finding and refused to be reeled in. He crossed the finish line a length and three-quarters ahead of Harlech, with Noble Knight another neck away in third.
“It was a great performance from the horse today and a perfect ride from Kylie as well,” Kincaid said. “She was able to get him to settle just off the pace this time, instead of having to lead like he often does. Then she saved all that ground coming around the home turn and it worked out perfectly.”
It was a second consecutive win in the Canterbury Gold Cup for Williams, who guided Green Luck to victory in the same race 12 months ago.
Riviera Rebel was bred by Philip Jeffreys, who races the gelding alongside Eade and his wife Pat. The four-year-old has now had 23 starts for six wins, seven placings and $219,255 in stakes.
“We’re still deciding whether or not to back him up again here at Riccarton next Saturday,” Kincaid said. “There’s not a lot else left for him this season, so whether he runs again next weekend or not, he’ll be heading out for a good long break soon before we get him ready for the spring.”
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