Andreas Schutz stayed out of the debate on how to pronounce Packing Llaregyb's name, but the German trainer had been a lot surer on his decision not to progress the horse up in distance, and the move resulted in a breakthrough win.
"I don't know how you are meant to say his name, he is just S109 to me," Schutz said, referring to the import's brand number. "But the key was keeping him to 1,400m."
I don't know how you are meant to say his name, he is just S109 to me
Andreas Schutz
The second part of Packing Llaregyb's name is derived from a radio play by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas - Dylan Thomas also being the name of the horse's sire. Even though Packing Llaregyb was a two-time winner over a mile in England, he had pulled at times, and continued to take hold in trials and races in his new home.
Schutz chose to limit his new acquisition to 1,400m for now, where a slightly quicker tempo would allow him to travel more smoothly without fighting the rider, and the patient choice paid off when he broke his local maiden after four starts.
"Even though we have been thinking about the mile all along, we decided we would rather go the 1,400m just one more time," Schutz said. "This time the pace was on, he wasn't keen at all - but previously he has just travelled too strongly to step up to the mile, and when he does that he just can't finish his races off."
Packing Llaregyb's success in the last race gave jockey Zac Purton a double, stretching the Australian's lead in the Jockeys' Championship back to six over the suspended Joao Moreira.
"He has been a difficult horse in the way he gets too keen, but the way they ran along quicker through the middle sections helped him to relax more and that was the difference," Purton said.
"He just had to learn a bit about racing here, but now that he has he could go on with it. He obviously has his share of ability - it's just a matter of working him out. It was a good decision to stay at the distance, if we had stepped up to the mile it might have backfired."
Dennis Yip Chor-hong granted Purton his first winner for the day, three-year-old Gentilis breaking through at his fifth start by holding off backmarker Addole in a close finish.
"He made hard work of it at the end," Purton said. "But he is still a baby and everything is a bit new to him - his inexperience showed a bit."
Yip said post-race that he would be gentle on Gentilis, and Purton agreed that the gelding would benefit both physically and mentally if given extra time. "That would probably help him, he has a win now so the pressure is off," he said.
Comments
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51kwLG70a1mq5mTnruoe8Crq6KbnJp8coCVamlvb1%2BdrrOwjKmpqKafqruksYylo5qqlZzGo3nPmpqkq12lwq%2Bvxw%3D%3D