Racing: Wise men not sure what to say

NZ Herald·

5 Sep, 2019 05:00 PM3 mins to read

Wise Men Say on his way to winning the Great Northern Steeplechase at Ellerslie in 2017. Photo / Trish Dunell

Raymond Connors is still waiting: waiting for the Wise Men Say who smashed his Great Northern Steeples rivals in 2017 to return.

And he knows if he doesn't show up at Ellerslie tomorrow he might never be seen again.

That is part of the mystique of the Great Northern, our most storied and gruelling jumping race. A horse that can be uncompetitive for 364 days of the year can have his moment of glory after three hikes up the Ellerslie hill.

Those three climbs plus the 6400m distance mean it is a race like no other and horses who may battle to keep up in your garden variety steeplechase can still shine on Great Northern Day.

Connors knows this better than most. He has trained the Northern winner four times and ridden another. And his three-time winner Hypnotize would often be outpaced over shorter trips before his stamina trumped his rivals' speed in the great race.

But as Connors heads to Ellerslie tomorrow with Wise Men Say and Max he doesn't know what to make of the 2017 champion.

"He has got us scratching our heads," admits Connors.

"You keep thinking he will come back to it and the longer distance will suit him but he has been a bit lacklustre for a while now.

"He is still working as well as he did when he won this race two years ago and still seems interested but he would need to go better than he did in the Pakuranga Hunt Cup [eighth] two weeks ago."

Great Northern form aside, that Pakuranga Hunt Cup failure is the most damning for Wise Men Say as few horses win a modern Northern if they weren't at least hitting the line well in the Pakuranga HC. That was won so convincingly by Lacustre he is the $2.70 favourite to repeat tomorrow but Connors also has the second favourite in Max.

He produced a superb early trial for the Northern when winning the McGregor Grant back in June then had three hurdles races before a strong but somewhat one-paced fourth to Lacustre last start.

"I'm happy with how he is going but we still don't know about the distance with him.

"And to be honest, I'd like the track to be on the better side of a winter heavy, whereas if it gets really boggy then it suits Wise Men Say better.

"But in saying that, maybe both of ours will struggle to beat Lacustre the way he won the Hunt Cup."

Connors also has King Oberon in the Great Northern Hurdles and after his last-start third he would usually be considered a good each way hope but this year's hurdle contains more class than usual.

"It is a really good field so we are up against it."

The jumpers will rightly star on their grand final day but Ellerslie has managed to attract some potential summer stars to the main flat race with Rondinella, Mongolian Marshal and Concert Hall all resuming in the open 1400m.