Nearly 12 months to the day after a horror fall in the VRC Sires’ left the star jockey in hospital for three weeks, Jamie Kah made the perfect start to her Newmarket Handicap Day winning the opening event on promising galloper Hedged.
After bolting in last start at Sandown back in October last year, Mick Price and Michael Kent Junior’s talented three-year-old traveled beautifully as $2.70 favourite in the 1100m Cirka Plate down the straight and staved off gallant West Australian raider Hanchi by half a length.
Having fielded huge offers from Hong Kong prior to Saturday’s win, Roll The Dice Racing connections will undoubtedly have further decisions to make regarding the racing future of the son of Capitalist but his co-trainer said the stable’s focus for now is on a return to Flemington.
“We haven’t been too tough on him and we have let him come when he’s been ready to come, he’s a bigger, stronger horse, got a better brain on him now, got a better set of knees on him – finally matured,” Price said.
“I would say that we’ll be back here in three weeks’ time, there’s a $500,000 race the Sunlight Classic … I think that would be nice.”
Price and Kent Jnr have had recent success in the Sunlight Classic (Listed, 1100m) with unbeaten galloper What You Need winning last year’s edition. Price says Hedged is on a similar trajectory despite perhaps not showing quite as much as his older stablemate at a similar point in their careers.
“What You Need was probably showing more at the same stage, albeit that he’s an entire. This horse (Hedged), all I’d say is that he’s a bigger, better, stronger gelding who is set for a really good prep and I’ll say he’d improve from today,” Price said.
Connections of Hedged celebrate after winning the Cirka Plate at Flemington Racecourse on March 09, 2024 in Flemington, Australia.