Racing: Stable foreman sees the irony

This was the cruelest blow ever - they made Ben Ropiha receive the winning trophy for Midnight Opal's $40,000 Northern Hurdle victory yesterday.

It's a good thing Ropiha is one of racing's nice guys.

Ropiha was meant to ride Midnight Opal, but the mare's trainer John Wheeler indicated late last week that he probably would not be running her.

Five minutes before he changed his mind Ropiha took the alternative ride on Daktari.

He smiled broadly at racing's fickle luck as he dismounted from Daktari, who barely had a view of the winner's performance, 34.6 lengths back in fourth and second-last place.

Ropiha was engaged as Wheeler's No 1 jumping rider and acted as stable foreman over the Ellerslie two-day meeting, filling in for Wheeler, who is campaigning a team at the Queensland winter carnival.

Midnight Opal is one of the best exponents of skipping over a hurdle since the brush hurdles were widely introduced.

She was always clear in the lead yesterday and her only fault was running out at her fences when going right-handed.

Wheeler, talking from Brisbane on Sunday, said he had been extremely worried about the heavy, testing conditions for Midnight Opal.

"If she handles the track she will go close," he said.

The mare managed the footing and the opposition could not get close, even though she made a sole mistake at the second-last hurdle.

Isaac Lupton had only to balance Midnight Opal for most of the trip.

Second-placed Drizzle went out a hot favourite and rider Tommy Hazlett was ecstatic over the performance - his first ride on the horse.

"I'm telling you, he's a superstar. Getting on his back is like climbing out of my car and into a Mercedes."

Hazlett said he could not credit how hard Drizzle tried under his clear topweight of 67kg, 3kg more than the next in the handicap, Al Burkan.

"His little wheels were going around and around and he was saying: 'I think I can get the leader, I think I can get the leader'.

"At the 600m I made a bit of ground on the leader and I thought we had her. I said: 'Come on little red man, let's go' and he had a real try, but she was travelling too well.

"It would be a wonderful thing if they all tried as hard as him - he's by far the best jumper I've ridden in New Zealand. He'll improve lengths on that effort."

Despite Midnight Opal being a speed horse, Ropiha believes the mare could be a danger in the longer Great Northern Hurdles in September.

"She makes ground at her jumps and those horses are always hard to beat."

And, yes, he'll be checking with Wheeler a long way out who he is engaging to ride her.