Splurge All Style

A decision by trainers Stephen Autridge & Jamie Richards to back off talented sprinter Splurge (4 g Savabeel - Splashing Out, by O'Reilly) paid dividends when he resumed with an emphatic win in the $40,000 Aon Insurance Brokers Premier 1200 metres at the Cambridge Jockey Club meeting on 29 April at Te Rapa.

Resisting temptation to press on after Splurge had recorded a powerful victory in the $100,000 Darley Plate (Gr. 3, 1200m) on Derby Day at Ellerslie, the trainers instead plotted a path towards campaigning the winner of seven from eleven in Brisbane.

Co-trainer Jamie Richards suggested Splurge would now likely contest the $125,000 BRC Sprint Handicap (Gr. 3, 1350m) on 20 May at Doomben, in preparation for the $1.5m Stradbroke Handicap (Gr. 1, 1400m) on 10 June at Eagle Farm.

Off 56 days, and following classy trial win earlier in the week at Taupo, Splurge appeared to have his task exacerbated when being lumped with 59.5kgs and also drawing wide but he made light work of it.

Tail-end Charlie in a field of eight, Splurge was the widest horse turning for home but once rider Opie Bosson asked him to quicken at the 200m he sailed on by to win with his ears pricked.

In drizzly conditions, on footing downgraded through the day from Good3 to Dead5, Splurge won by 1 ¼ lengths in 1:11.3 for the 1200 metres and last 600m in 35.6.

“He's a magnificent horse with a ton of ability,” Autridge said. “Everything went to plan. He drew out, so had to go back, but got a nice drag into it, and one thing is for sure he can handle any ground.  The only thing I was worried about was the weight he had. The ground was no problem, but when you have a look at it, it was one of his easiest wins.”

“Isn't he a beautiful example of equine excellence?,” said Te Akau principal David Ellis, who purchased Splurge as a yearling for the 2014 Te Akau Breeding Syndicate, from the draft of Waikato Stud, at the New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Sale.

“If you wanted to have a school and show young potential bloodstock buyers what to look for in a horse you'd show them Splurge. He's just a beautiful horse.

“Opie (Bosson) said to me after the race, ‘people probably won't realise just how easy that win was today, he just won so well'.”

Ellis also paid tribute to both Aon Insurance broker Graeme Tocker, sponsoring for the 31st time at the meeting, and the Cambridge Jockey Club.

“Congratulations to the Cambridge Jockey Club. They're a terrific club, progressive, and do a great job for the industry and Graeme your support is just wonderful and very much appreciated.

“It's always a thrill to win a race on your day here and it's become quite a lucky day for Te Akau. The same group of owners won the Cambridge Breeders' Stakes with Xtravagant on this day last year, and we're going to have another party.”

The trainers also won a prize courtesy of Fibre Fresh. Their representative Luke Needham saying, “they're familiar with me dropping off winning bags of feed at the stables”.

Ellis added: “Splurge was strapped by Wiremu Pinn, who also looked after Gingernuts. Wiremu is a young apprentice jockey with Te Akau that has a very big future, and he's not far from having a trial ride. And he's a young lad that we're rapt to have in the team."

Photo credit - www.raceimages.co.nz