New Zealand-bred gelding Hard To Cross further enhanced his impressive record at Sandown with victory in Saturday’s A$130,000 Quayclean Handicap (1600m).
The son of All Too Hard has had a total of 20 starts for six wins and five placings, earning A$381,055 for his big group of owners. But he saves his very best for Sandown, where his eight starts have produced five wins and two placings.
A winner in Benchmark 70 and Benchmark 84 company at Sandown in his last two appearances, Hard To Cross lined up in Benchmark 78 grade on Saturday. He was lumped with a 61.5kg topweight, but expat Kiwi apprentice jockey Jaylah Kennedy’s 3kg claim took that down to 58.5kg.
Hard To Cross was drawn handily in gate four, and the in-form Kennedy took up a handy position in the slipstream of the front-running Golden Crusader.
Kennedy switched to the outside at the home turn and Hard To Cross took care of the rest, lengthening stride and driving past Golden Crusader to win by a length.
“This horse is flying,” said Kennedy, who has now notched up 60 wins in Victoria this season. “He was probably thinking about things a little bit late in the race. If anyone had come up alongside him, he might have been a bit more impressive.
“We drew a low gate in this race, and with the pattern today, I was happy to roll with him. He travelled nicely in my hands.
“Just before the straight, I saw the chance to pop out and start building into it. He was super. I always felt like the winner.”
Hard To Cross is trained by Patrick Payne, who was represented at Sandown on Saturday by Neil Greaves.
“It was a great ride by Jaylah,” he said. “The speed map probably favoured him today and we thought he’d settle somewhere in the first four. Jaylah got him into a lovely spot.
“Patrick and his team have done a very good job with this horse, who has a great bunch of owners. They’re spread quite far and wide – these colours are fairly famous around Alice Springs – but a small group of them are here today and I’m sure they’re getting a big thrill out of this win.
“This is a great little horse and the ownership group have had a fantastic ride with him.”
Bred by Cambridge Stud couple Brendan and Jo Lindsay, Hard To Cross is out of their two-race winning Commands mare Egyptian Cross and is the older half-brother to Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) runner-up Red Sea.
