KEY POINTS:
"I hope we can get this boy here more often."
That was an excited Bjorn Baker after The Heckler won the Karaka Million 2YO at Ellerslie last evening.
The Murray and Bjorn Baker stable has a special reason to be keen on Australian jockey Michael Rodd -
they provided him with his first group one win on Prized Gem in the 2002 Brisbane Cup.
Also Rodd's second group one success, Prized Gem in the Kelt Capital Stakes the same year.
Rodd is Mr Right for a million-dollar hustle and bustle like the Karaka Million - he's Mr Cool.
The Heckler, still learning his trade, needed a rider like that in a race that had a lot of niggle among most runners for most of the final 1000m.
Rodd is impressed by The Heckler, having just his third race start.
"He's not just a 2-year-old this horse, in fact, he's not a 2-year-old at all, he's a 3-year-old.
"I watched his runs on tape and he won his first by leading and winning as he liked. Then in his second run he missed the start a bit and got a little lost.
"Today, racing mid-field he was looking at everything around him the whole way - he'll improve."
Sir Patrick Hogan, on the eve of his Grand Final each year, New Zealand Bloodstock's Karaka Yearling Sale, was relatively relaxed as one of The Heckler's owners.
Not so Auckland Racing Club director Alistair Sutherland, who picked The Heckler out at Karaka last year for $70,000 and convinced Hogan, ARC director Peter Walker and Tony Timpson to take a leg each in the wall-eyed youngster.
You can't blame a director of the club getting emotional winning a million-dollar race on their own track.
There were plenty of hard luck stories, but that's horse racing and The Heckler deserved this win.
"The others had their chance to beat him," said Rodd. Australian Sarge In Charge came closest, but the 1.4 lengths told the story.
Bewitched was a nice third ahead of the winner's stablemate Veldt and the desperately unlucky Corsage.
Michael Walker was initially so upset about the serious check Corsage copped on the home turn he was speechless.
Later he said: "Oh, she was just steaming.
"If she's got that gap she'd have won. I blame myself a little."
But trainer Mark Walker wouldn't wear that. "It's part of racing."
Michael Walker had to press forward and try for the gap when he did.
The gap was there for Corsage, but Mark Sweeney rolled half a horse width off the rail on stablemate Ransom Success as Walker tried to push through and the gap was not there.
Most riders said there was push and shove. It's what a million dollars can do to a 1200m race.
Michael Coleman said Katie Lee lacked dash when asked and she finished eighth, 5.1 lengths away.
Kaaptan provided a sensation when he stood in the barriers and watched the field go, losing 20 lengths.
"He picked a bad time to do that," said a devastated trainer Stephen McKee.
