Dean Yendall’s magic touch has seen Adelaide Ace (NZ) (Savabeel) return to the winner’s stall on his first ride aboard the Lindsey Smith-trained galloper, who was too classy for his rivals in Sunday’s A$125,000 Swan Hill Cup (1600m).
The win was Yendall’s fifth on the nine-race program and his third Swan Hill Cup success, making it back-to-back wins in the feature race after partnering Heptagon (NZ) (Jimmy Choux) in 2020.
Adelaide Ace had not saluted since the 2020 Gr.2 Autumn Classic (1800m) last February, but punters had faith the Dean Yendall show could roll on with the four-year-old jumping a well-supported $2.90 favourite.
Yendall stalked a strong tempo where Adelaide Ace was able to score by a long neck over the Craig Weeding-trained Prince of Helena (Sidestep) while Zachaz (NZ) (Coats Choice) for local rider Harry Coffey finished in third placing.
“I’m glad he was able to come back and win a nice race for the owners,” a relieved Lindsey Smith said after the victory.
“They knocked a lot of money back for the horse and then he had that wind op and the genius had to get him back into form.”
That genius was Dean Yendall, with Smith crediting the hoop for swapping the whip to his left hand in the business end of the race.
“I thought the switch to the left hand was quite telling actually,” Smith admitted.
“When he switched it over, he did dig in when I thought the other horse might have had him… I thought that was the difference between winning and losing.”
Bred by Bill and Jim Gartshore under their Gartshore Bloodstock banner, Adelaide Ace is the younger brother of multiple Group Three winner Savy Yong Blonk and has now won six of his 18 career starts.
“They set a real good tempo to suit something to run on,” Yendall said of the Swan Hill Cup win.
“He travelled really well, I never touched the bridle then at one stage I thought I wasn’t going that well.
“But I remembered when young Lachie (Neindorf) rode him last time, he looked like he hit a flat spot and was good again late… so I was hoping that was going to be the case.
“I had the whip in the right and then swapped it to the left, mainly just to trick him because obviously he hasn’t been in front for a while.
“He probably did surge about 70 metres out when I asked him to give me something.”
