Racing: Sandcastle's promotion gives jockey a double

Sir Scintillate was the luckiest winner at Matamata on Saturday.

Local trainer John Sargent got a shock late last week when he discovered that Sandcastle was eligible for the Rating 76 race on the programme, even though he was accepted for the much tougher R83 class.

"I talked to the owners and they said now that he was accepted for the Rating 83 race we may as well run."

Sandcastle easily won the strong event, clocking a staggeringly fast 1.21.68 1400m.

The R76 race won by Sir Scintillate was a full two seconds slower.

The big winner was Jason Waddell, who ended up riding both horses.

He had a word of warning for rivals looking to take on Sandcastle in the immediate future: "This horse reminds me so much of Kristov in the way he cruises at such a high speed."

Although he won at Ellerslie last start, Sandcastle's overall form has been mixed and Sargent and his stable rider say they have finally worked the horse out.

"He doesn't travel well," said the trainer, pointing out that the beaten performances this campaign have been at Awapuni and Trentham.

Waddell: "I couldn't fathom it - I thought it might have been the dead track at Awapuni, but then it occurred to me that each of his bad runs were away from home."

The depth of Sandcastle's win was emphasised by the fact that in the following open-class event Jury's Out, chased hard by Silky Boxer, Manten and Devoted, clocked 1.22.56 for the 1400m.

The Matamata track had been well watered, providing that just-yielding surface that produces the fastest times because horses feel comfort in their legs.

That certainly suited Jury's Out. "He hasn't been enjoying the firm tracks," said co-trainer Dave Haworth.

The narrow win was just what was needed for rider Gavin McKeon.

Moments before going out to mount Jury's Out, McKeon watched on inter-track television the dashing Otaki win of Pretorius, who he rode into sixth behind Snazzy in the $100,000 Whakanui Stud International.

McKeon was impressed by Jury's Out. "He's so game. He's a horse you don't have to bash - you just have to encourage him."

Haworth has long believed that Jury's Out will one day win a major race and at $140,000-plus, he's already doing okay.

"There are quite a few suitable races coming up for him. We'll look at the big mile at Tauranga then there's the Thompson Handicap at Trentham."

Devoted probably should have won. The locally trained sprinter looked to be bolting behind the pacemaking Jury's Out on the home bend and soon after, a narrow rails gap appeared.

Laura Cheshire aimed Devoted at the gap, but each time she struck the class sprinter with the whip, he ducked back in behind the heels of Jury's Out.

Cheshire seemed disappointed in Devoted and trainer Jim Gibbs seemed disappointed with his apprentice after viewing the official head-on video of the closing stages.

* Any suggestions that Captain Kurt would not successfully return from a bleeding attack in last November's 2000 Guineas were extinguished when the class 3-year-old stormed home to win on Saturday.

His part owner, veterinarian Jim Marks, described Captain Kurt's bleed at Riccarton as "very minor".

"They have to do a mandatory three months, but for a bleed like he had, one month would have been plenty."

Marks wants trainers Wayne and Vanessa Hillis to take Captain Kurt to Australia in the autumn.