Racing: Kawi, Innes follow script

Trainer Allan Sharrock and strapper Emma Davies with two-time champion Kawi. Photo / Paul Taylor

Retribution, they say, is a dish best served cold so it's fair to say favourite Kawi and jockey Leith Innes couldn't have picked a better place or time than a chilly Hastings to deliver that message.

For trainer Allan Sharrock, the group one $200,000 Makfi Challenge Stakes Daffodil Raceday victory was enormous because nothing would have shut up detractors more than that commanding display on Saturday.

The barbs came last week after Kawi, who had clinched three group one races, went under the surgeon's knife when Sharrock and his stable became aware the horse was suffering from a lack of oxygen.

"The operation we did was only for the benefit of the horse. So the people at Race Cafe were bagging him, bagging me and now [I can say] all the rest of them can go jump in the lake because we've got the job done and the horse is fine," was Sharrock's scathing statement to the website forum, emphasising he didn't follow it but got feedback from acquaintances who had.

"You're always loaded with pressure because they are always there to knock you but Kawi just stood up and ticked the box."

In the lead up to the Makfi Challenge, the horse was carrying a bruised cannon bone (large metatarsal bone on the foot) denying him a dress rehearsal of sorts in the group two Foxbridge Plate.

"I wouldn't have done that if I didn't think it would have improved him," Sharrock told NZ Racing Desk. "He's in grand condition."

The combination performed to the script at the slow (7) track to finish in 1m 24.87s during the first leg of the Bostock New Zealand Spring Racing Carnival trilogy staged in Hawke's Bay.

The 6-year-old bay gelding crossed the line in a stiff westerly wind, 1.3 lengths ahead of the Stuart Manning-trained El Pescado and Cameron Lammas, while Farm Boy (Hayden Tinsley) was the other upstart, 1.5 lengths behind, to question the pundits' predictions as the remaining favourites faded away.

Longchamp (2.3L), Authentic Paddy (2.5L), Battle Time (2.8L) followed in that order over 1400m.

Innes, who also rode Kawi to victory last year in the Makfi Challenge Stakes, bagged his third crown after winning his first one on Starcraft in 2004.

Part of the banter at the birdcage during the victory ceremony was the differences the trainer and jockey tend to have, much to the amusement of the co-owners and fans.

"Leith's ridden a lot of group one winners for me and we get on very well, from the time he was a young apprentice," explained a jovial Sharrock.

"But we still argue about bad rides and different things so that's something you do in sport, even though he's a very good friend of mine."

The animated discussion the pair were engaged in during the victory ceremony was about how Innes had not seen Sharrock oozing with so much confidence before.

"He rode him perfectly, mate. He got cover because he was always going to be three wide but he came around at the right time although he probably got in front a little too soon because it was easy for him but he is a terrific horse," Sharrock said.

Kawi jumped well from the gate at barrier 15 for Innes to ease into the bunch in the midfield before making a decisive shift as the combination drew closer to the home bend of the 1700m left-turn track.

Kawi let down strongly in the home straight to comfortably surge into pole position for a don't-argue finish.

The New Plymouth trainer is keeping his faith that the champion horse will probably be better at the 1600m distance when the $200,000 Windsor Park Plate will be staged on September 17 before the finale, the $250,000 Livamol Classic over 2040m on October 1.

Sharrock reiterated that the 6-year-old was the best weight-for-age thoroughbred in New Zealand and that's why the bookies had installed him their favourite.

He confirmed the pedigree son of Savabeel, out of the dam Magic Time, would head to Australia "soon than later", once "I have him sorted out here".

A representative of the co-owners revealed in his speech that they also hounded Sharrock on how the Steak and Christine Goodin-bred Kawi was going to go.

"They are all friends of my late father [Bob] and they've all grown up together so it's a great connection. We're very, very satisfied."

A Baeyertz, J Goodin, G Macdonald, G Phillips and the estate of the late Robert Sharrock are co-owners of Kawi who has earned them close to $700,000 with a dozen victories from a career 25 starts in the 1200m to 2000m range.

Hasselhoof and Stolen Dance had to settle for 10th and 11th places, respectively, while the other favourite, Valley Girl, came in last in the field of 16.

Bond and fellow Olympian Anita McLaren (nee Punt), a Black Stick, were there to promote Daffodil Raceday to raise Sunsmart awareness as well as help raise money for the Hawke's Bay Cancer Society.

Hawke's Bay Racing general manager Andrew "Butch" Castles was delighted to have picked three winners from the nine races at the meeting to help boost the society's funds by a projected marginally more than $20,000 this year.

Kawi, the Stephen Marsh-trained Ugo Foscolo (Michael Coleman) and the Johno Benner and Hollie Wynyard co-trained Humidor trumped up $2000 each from the TAB.

"It's a privilege to raise that sort of money for the cancer society," said Castles, putting it down to "a lot of different things coming together".