Ride High gifted sports’ lovers another insight into his audacious talent with a dominant display at Tabcorp Park last week.
Having dropped jaws with his 25.8-second finishing burst a fortnight ago, Ride High reinforced his brilliance in the Melton City Council Sprint, with his 1:50.8 mile rate the equal third quickest ever recorded at Tabcorp Park Melton, and produced despite the cool, windy conditions and the plugs being left in.
Reinswoman Kima Frenning told Trots Vision post-race “it’s a real privilege to get to drive a horse like him”.
“He really is a once-in-a-lifetime horse and to be able to say I won two races on him is pretty special,” she said, having won by 13 metres from Courageous Saint after a 27.3-second first quarter and then getting home in a 53.6-second last half.
“I said to (trainer) Clayton (Tonkin) before the race ‘do you want to pull the plugs to see how fast he can go?’,” she said, but again she’s didn’t need to. “It’s scary to think he’s untapped still. It’s pretty freaky. He does this in second gear.
“He’s real professional, he knows where the line is and he knows when he has to race. I’m sure there was plenty more there.”
In a soundcloud interview Tonkin told Andrew Bensley post-race that Ride High was “an awesome specimen. He did it quite easily.”
“I think you will get a real shock when (Kima) does open him up, what he can run, but we don’t want to break him down. He’s a beautiful big horse, but he’s just such a gorgeous moving horse. He gets across the ground so easily.”
Tonkin told Bensley that Ride High was “the best horse I’ve put my hands, just on sheer brilliance and untapped potential”, and that he would now plot a course to the Pryde’s EasiFeed Victoria Cup on October 12.
“I have to sit down and decide where I’m going to head before that. He will have a few runs to harden him up so he’s spot on (for) Vic Cup,” Tonkin said.
“His work’s always brilliant, but he was on his toes more tonight. Bringing him away and getting him under lights and getting him amongst it all again, it just tightens him up every time.”
