By Mike Dillon
One down and three to go for Ross Taylor.
The rookie Tauranga trainer got the first item on his Christmas/New Year wish list by winning Saturday's $350,000 Sleepyhead Derby with a horse so lame with a bruised heel 72 hours earlier he would have bet against a start much less a win.
But that is only the start of the uphill climb.
Yesterday Taylor had three more pressing worries.
The most immediate was recovering from a hangover, followed closely by getting over So Casual's foot problem as the class 3-year-old heads towards the $A1.8 million Triple Crown series in Melbourne starting in six weeks.
The Derby winner was back on the walking wounded list yesterday, his bruised heel having been aggravated by his Ellerslie effort.
To alleviate the problem Taylor was quick to reintroduce the piece of equipment which got So Casual to Ellerslie, a bar shoe, which takes the pressure off the back of a horse's heel.
Taylor could not speak highly enough of the job done by his farrier Alan Lambert to against all odds get So Casual fit enough to run at Ellerslie, but he knew that was not the end of the problem.
"It's a great tribute to the man's ability," Taylor said of Lambert, son of longtime Waikato official judge Jim Lambert, who is also team farrier for New Zealand's Olympic and World Cup attempts.
While he is aware the clock is ticking, Taylor is sure he has enough time to get So Casual over his foot trouble and have him rock hard fit again for the first of the Melbourne races, the $A400,000 Alister Clark Stakes (1600m) on February 6, won earlier this year by Zonda, who races in the same ownership.
"This is like any other bruise, you've just got to wait until it works itself out and you've got to keep the pressure off the heel until it does.
"It might take two weeks and if he's over it by then we'll be ok."
Taylor's last wish is for Damien Oliver to commit to the So Casual Triple Crown ride.
Melbourne's champion jockey gave Taylor a "wait and see" commitment after a word-perfect ride to land So Casual home a narrow winner over El Duce and a wayward Nahayan in New Zealand's premier classic.
"He's going to be competitive against the best in Melbourne for sure, he's a very adaptable horse," Oliver said immediately after the Derby.
But Oliver has strong stable commitments in Melbourne, being No 1 rider for the powerful Lee Freedman stable, and with 3-year-olds traditionally likely to develop and emerge quickly in only weeks at this time of year, no one can blame him for waiting and watching this far out from the major money.
Oliver has the perfect temperament for a top jockey, he has supreme confidence in his ability without being cocky.
His professionalism eased Taylor's pressure going into the race.
"The homework Damien had done on So Casual's videos and his belief in the horse, even though he had never sat on his back, was so reassuring.
"I wanted So Casual ridden one out from the fence and one back if possible and that's where Damien wanted to ride him after watching the videos.
"From the minute the gates opened you just knew that was the spot he was going to get.
"It was a gorgeous piece of horsemanship."
If Oliver looked to have taken off too soon on So Casual 50m before the home turn, it was a clever tactic.
Once he quickly drew level with the leaders 420m out he did what few jockeys would have done in a Derby, he sat coolly and quietly for a full 200m.
The overall effect was he had put pressure on the opposition on the corner at the same time saving So Casual's energy for the last 200 drive. Nothing would have withstood Nahayan's finish if she had run straight, but if Oliver had pressed the foot to the floor on the corner, he almost certainly would not have held out El Duce.
Taylor is not getting carried away with his triple crown chances, but he knows that even if So Casual proves to be not quite good enough, he has got racing's next best base well covered - he has a horse who will give 100 per cent every time.
"He's not as good as Zonda, but in terms of durability and reliability, you won't find one better."
Taylor is hoping that's good enough for Damien Oliver.
Horse Racing: Derby win just the start for Taylor
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