Racing: Scott defies pain to win Steeples for Wheeler

Winning jockey Brett Scott paid tribute to Real Tonic's trainer John Wheeler. Picture / Greg Bowker

John Wheeler has always been a winner.

The Taranaki horseman has experienced enough personal tragedy in his life to bury most people, but has refused to allow it to overpower him.

Wheeler and his Australian-based jockey Brett Scott achieved a lifetime goal in winning the $100,000 Sharp Great Northern Steeples with Real Tonic at Ellerslie on Saturday.

Asked what makes Scott so good, the trainer's reply he could have been a comment about himself.

"Because he's achievement-orientated.

"It's what every parent aspires to with their children and in almost every case get let down," Wheeler said.

"And the reason for that is that kids mostly know everything until they're 40, then by the time they realise they know very little, they're dead in the water. It's too late."

The carefree attitude Wheeler generally gives off often masks how deeply he thinks.

The question was in response to Scott's declaration after Real Tonic's remarkable comeback-from-the-dead victory that Wheeler had very early recognised a rare talent in him.

"I only rode six winners in the whole of my apprenticeship," the jockey said.

"Then when I started riding over jumps - and you have to remember I wasn't riding for John - he came to me and said in my second year I'd be the leading jumps rider, and he was right.

"He supported me even before I started riding for him."

Wheeler: "Scotty was always going to be a winner because he's achievement-orientated."

And relatively pain-free after three dreadful years of injury that saw him come close to retirement.

One of his injuries was a broken back.

Asked on Saturday if he was totally pain-free, he smiled, hesitated, and said: "Well, I'm managing it."

There was no sign of pain as Scott had to pick Real Tonic up out of the Ellerslie mud and almost carry him past I'manace, who looked certain to win from the second-last fence to the final 75m.

It was one of the toughest rides you'll see and Real Tonic displayed the signs of it when he returned to the birdcage.

Wheeler paid tribute to Scott's extreme fitness.

"That played a huge part in the win," said Wheeler.

Just as the $100,000 Lindauer Great Northern Hurdles produced a heart-stopping finish 70 minutes earlier, the Great Northern Steeples was a remarkable contest from start to finish.

The time of 8.50.48 was the second slowest for more than 50 years and only 1.58 seconds faster than the time Ascona took to win in 1977 on a track that was an absolute bog.

Last year Just The Man clocked 7.41.44.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Real Tonic coming back to win after looking beaten was the fact that he raced keenly into the bridle the whole way for Scott, something that has beaten scores of horses in Great Northerns through decades.

The slow tempo set by Just The Man was what nearly won the great race for I'manace.

"When we came over the second-last fence at the bottom of the Hill, I conceded the race," said Scott.

"I went to move on Real Tonic and when I did, I'manace sprinted and put several more lengths on us.

"I said to myself: 'You're kidding. How can any horse sprint like that at the end of this race?' But the fact they'd gone slow allowed him to produce that sprint."

Real Tonic looked spent approaching the last fence and even after landing over it no one thought there was a remote chance of the favourite getting punters home, although Wheeler said he hadn't given up hope.

"He's like Tiger Woods, he never gets beaten in a play-off."

To win the Great Eastern and Grand Annual Steeplechases and have Real Tonic fit enough at the end of the jumping season to produce a superlative effort out of deep Ellerslie mud is a great tribute to Wheeler's training.

Asked if it was the toughest he's ever had to ride a horse out, Scott said: "I had to ride him very hard to win the Grand Annual."

As if he needed to further prove his professionalism, Scott took an early flight to Melbourne yesterday to take three jumping rides at Packenham.

"I don't know how much celebrating I'll be able to do tonight," he said as he left Ellerslie.

The enormous response to the two Great Northerns puts further pressure on the Auckland Racing Club to again raise the stakes, particularly for the Steeplechase.

The ARC significantly raised the Hurdles' stake this year and the result was the best hurdling field anyone could remember.

Wheeler is adamant a similar rise in the dollars for the Steeplechase would see Australian jumpers here for the race.

"We had Scotty here for the meeting and Craig Durden and Adam Trinder was keen to come over, they're the best three riders in Australia. We'll get the horses here with a bit more money."

Irish businessman Eamon Cleary, who races Real Tonic with Wheeler, listened to the race down the phone from Argentina.