Racing: Frost warms to Melbourne trip

Rachael Frost is in a panic for nothing.

They say you regret the things you don't do more than the things you do and the Otaki trainer has a bit of a list on the former.

Heading it is not taking Spirit Of Alaton for a Melbourne jumping campaign last winter.

Now Frost has another big regret - that Racing Victoria will, this afternoon, prevent her taking Spirit Of Alaton to Melbourne this year.

Racing Victoria will make its announcement today on whether jumps racing in the state will be allowed to continue after protests by animal welfare activists over the level of jumping fatalities.

But unless the bush telegraph is way off, Frost can relax.

Increasingly, the word is that the jumping game in Australia will today be thrown a lifeline.

And that's good news for Rachael Frost and Spirit Of Alaton, a magnificent jumping prospect who simply can't manage the wet tracks of a New Zealand winter.

At Te Rapa on Saturday, Spirit Of Alaton outjumped and outstayed the opposition to lead throughout and win the $33,500 Dunstan Waikato Hurdles.

"He's okay on a track like today, but when it gets wet and heavy it takes away his speed," said a delighted Frost. "He gets too dour in the wet."

In winter, Melbourne's tracks are rarely worse than Saturday's Te Rapa surface - in magnificent condition given the amount of rain in Waikato in the preceding week.

"We should have taken him to Melbourne last year when Wellington was axed," said a regretful Frost.

But the diminutive Otaki trainer had time to reflect on a pretty good day at the office.

Less than 20 minutes before Spirit Of Alaton's memorable win under Isaac Lupton, Frost won a maiden race at Manawatu with Sahara, a horse she described as: "Good horse, bad brain."

The only owner representative at Te Rapa to see the win was Joan McMillan, wife of part owner Tony. Allan Myers, according to Joan McMillan, was due to catch a commercial flight north, even though he flies his own plane, but didn't like the look of the weather forecast.

Frost said provided the news is good this afternoon she will look to have Spirit Of Alaton in Melbourne for races like the Grand National Steeplechase.

"I've got to nail the owners down. When I've mentioned Australia to them, they've said: 'Yeah, yeah, when he wins one.' Well, there's no reason not to go now.

"The handicapper will end up getting him here. We'll probably get one and a half kilos for that win and if he wins another one he'll be at the top of the handicaps.

"He can line up in Melbourne as a maiden steeplechaser. He's already qualified here as a 'chaser."

Favourite Pasco proved costly when he fibrillated in the back straight.

The vast percentage of horses completely recover almost immediately from the sudden, dramatic change in the rhythm of the heart.

"It was a weird feeling,"said rider Joanne Rathbone. "One minute he was travelling beautifully, then he just suddenly stopped."

Stewards advised Pasco's connections the horse required a certificate of fitness, including the results of an ECG before next racing and also has to trial to the satisfaction of stewards.

Wolf Pack fought strongly for second and so did High Season for third. Fourth-placed Cape Kinaveral looked the likely winner on the home bend, but landed awkwardly over the second last for Brett Scott and didn't make too good a job of the last obstacle. He looks a winner soon. Tommy Hazlett was satisfied with the effort of Yourtheman in finishing seventh, 7.3 lengths away.

"Coming up to the turn I was confident he was going to run to them, but he started to level out going over the third-last fence.

"He came to the end of it and had a decent blow when we pulled up.

"He'll improve a lot with that - he'd had only the one lead-up race on the flat."Missy Browne will be required to wear a neck-brace halo for an indefinite period after fracturing her No 1 vertebrae in a fall at Paeroa last week.

"The vertebrae is fractured both sides of the spinal cord," said the Cambridge jumps jockey yesterday.

Browne spilled from second favourite Magic Myth in the early stages of the maiden steeplechase.