Jake the comeback kid

Eight year old Jake (Bettor’s Delight) defied not only his age when he won at Methven today, but also the very long gap between races.

The gelding had his last start for his original trainer Dean Taylor on the Methven track in December 2021 and didn’t race at all as a five, six or seven year old.

“He’s always showed he had ability. At his first start at Forbury Dean thought he would win but he was beaten by a horse Darryn Simpson had (Parama) which went on to win four races,” owner Grahame Scurr said.

After winning three races for Taylor, Jake went in the wind which required an operation.

“Dean worked him up again but at his first start back he roared again, so that was it. He was such a nice wee horse I didn’t feel like getting rid of him. I started to do another preparation, a lot more than you’d do with most horses.”

Scurr prepared Jake on his Lincoln property, jogging him round the paddocks and taking him over to Motukarara for Ross Cameron to fast work him.

“Normally my wife (Bev) would let him go and I’d jog him up. But she wasn’t home one day so I let him go myself and he backed up, got me against the wall and I broke four vertebrae in my back.”

Cameron then took over the training and has had the gelding since June of this year.

In today’s race Cameron was comfortable for the gelding to sit parked and at the end of the 2400 metres he had a length to spare over favourite Moonshiner who ran home late with Vermeer Lustre a nose back in third.

JAKE REPLAY

“When I work him he’s not overly tough or brave. He’s good following speed and he’s got that real acceleration when he comes off a trail. I haven’t had him that long so I’m still learning about him. I was quite impressed with his win today,” Cameron said.

Cameron trains at Coes Ford near the Selwyn River.

“During the winter we get pretty wet here so I had a lot of issues with his feet like abscesses and mud fever.”

Jake has now won three races on the grass so the eight year old should be suited to the grass track racing over summer.

“He’s only going to go from R35 to R40 and a lot of those standing start races are in that grade. We’ll have a look at the Blue September Invitational Drivers race at Motukarara. It’ll be the same type of field and its penalty free if you win it.”

Cameron also complemented HRNZ for reassessing Jake’s rating because the horse was away from the races for such a long time.

“They did a great job with him, dropping him as many points as they did for his time out.”

Prior to today’s win Jake’s last win was at Oamaru in March 2021 as a four year old – a race Grahame and Bev remember well.

“It was that wet he came eleven wide. We were running back to the stable that excited because we’d got second and then they called him in first, so we turned round and ran back. It was quite an unbelievable run,” Scurr said.

Grahame and Bev have raced a few horses over the years with Best Trio their best so far. He won five for Taylor and was placed a further seventeen times in sixty eight starts.

Let’s hope Jake the comeback kid can better that record.

For complete race results, click here.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink