KEY POINTS:
Hayden Tinsley will be aware he has some catching up to do when he climbs into Envoy's saddle in the Trentham birdcage for tomorrow's $300,000 Wellington Cup.
It won't be his main focus because the talented Palmerston North jockey has a thing about not looking back on life, but no one can completely ignore missing eight of the last 13 months of their chosen profession.
Much worse, the three separate serious periods of injury Tinsley has struck almost certainly cost him the winning ride on Envoy in last year's Wellington Cup.
But then the balance is that injury to Envoy's now regular rider Grant Cooksley on Monday is the reason Tinsley has returned to Envoy's back.
"Everything you do in life is a balance - I've had a rocky 12 months and hopefully that means I'll have a very good next 12 months."
Tinsley remembers being laid up with injury and watching Envoy win the Wellington Cup in January from the comfort of his lounge.
He recalls no great depth of disappointment.
"I can't speak for how some other jockeys would react to missing a winning ride like that, but some would be more disappointed than me. I look forward, I never look back."
And he is looking forward to tomorrow's Cup, particularly as Envoy showed he was once again right at the top of his form with his Trentham Stakes win on Saturday.
Tinsley has good knowledge of the horse, having won the Hawkes Bay Cup on Envoy and finished a second and a third at his only other rides on him.
"I don't believe the Cup is any stronger than it was when Envoy won last year and he's only got a fraction more weight," said Tinsley yesterday.
One factor that excited Tinsley is the dash Envoy showed when Cooksley, disappointed with a horrendously slow tempo, shot the horse around the field down the back straight.
"Cooksley won the race with that move," says Tinsley. "The tempo certainly wasn't suiting Envoy until Cooksley changed the tempo.
"I was looking at the results of that race and in the last 20 years only twice have they gone as slow as 2.30 and both of those were like 2.31. This time they went 2.34.7."
Trainer Ken Kelso feels Envoy, traditionally a little one-paced, has more zip in him because this preparation, unlike going into last year's Cup, the horse has not had a Melbourne Cup run to bleed his speed.
"The day I won the Hawkes Bay Cup on him he showed some acceleration and hopefully he'll show the same this time," said Tinsley.
He is pleased with Envoy's handy No 4 draw. "It will make it easier to help him carry the 58kg."
Less pleasing for the entire camp is the prospect of light rain or drizzle, something that would severely hamper Envoy.
"The track on Monday was quite hard and it needed some water."
The Wellington Racing Club irrigated midweek and the footing was yesterday rated at 2.5.
Tinsley rates Willy Smith as his biggest danger.
"He wouldn't have been suited by that canter around and sprint home on Saturday either and I thought his effort was pretty good."
TAB odds for Wellington Cup: $4.60 Willy Smith; $5.50 Envoy; $6.50 Respect, So You; $7.50 Everswindell; $16 The Bighearted; $17 Mirkola Lass; $18 Dimondsontheinside, He's So Vain; $26 Downwind; $31 Far Away Places, Genebel; $41 Taikorea, Sordid Affair; $51 Arreviderci, Blaze'n Rule; $81 Its All Good; $101 In Theory.
