Racing: Sea King shows his usual tricks

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Sea King is one of those horses jockeys simply can't like.

He's definitely an owner's horse, but even one of his owners, professional trainer Rachael Frost, found him too difficult to manage and sent him to Kevin Myers.

Sea King should have won yesterday's $50,000 K S Browne Hurdle by a margin, but remembered late in the race who he was.

"That should have been a win by three or four lengths, but he got awkward late in the race," said winning rider Matt Gillies.

Sea King ducked in suddenly in the run from the last hurdle, brushing Just Got Home and edging him against the running rail.

It was a mild surprise to many that an inquiry wasn't opened, but the incident was not enough to justify switching the first two placings.

Just Got Home was beaten only half a length, but he had his chance.

Gillies handled Sea King beautifully.

He had him at the back of the field, preserving energy under his 70kg topweight.

He slipped the horse through underneath the leaders to challenge for the lead on the home bend and got him home in a desperate finish.

"I was getting prepared to run away and win by a margin, but that's just not him," he said.

Sea King took his earnings to $176,938 and he is about to become a victim of crushing weights for successful New Zealand jumpers.

Former Group One winning apprentice Troy Harris has gained immediate traction in his new career as a jumps jockey.

He sits quietly and with balance on his mounts which played a big part in Istimagic's debut hurdle victory yesterday.

Istimagic looked to be well covered by another debut jumper Back In Black at the 400m, but the energy Harris had saved on Istimagic won the day in the run from the last hurdle.

Trainer Rudy Liefting says he enjoys the jumpers: "But only as a bit of fun. I've only got two of them." Just Got Home is the other.