Evergreen galloper Tavis Court had won a race in every season of his career since he debuted as a three-year-old, and at the tail end of his nine-year-old year, he kept that remarkable streak alive at Hawera on Tuesday.
Lining up in a compact field of just four runners, Tavis Court was the $13.50 outsider, with the lightly tried Lazio backed as though nearly unbeatable, closing at $1.20.
In the hands of Kate Hercock, Tavis Court was the quickest out of the barriers and full of running early, taking a clear lead and travelled comfortably through the mid-stages.
Lazio came up to draw level with Tavis Court turning for home and looked to have the upper hand in the straight, but the son of Tavistock fought back on the inside, powering through late to score by a length.
The victory took Tavis Court’s tally up to 11, and over the $315,000 mark in earnings for his breeder-owners, Graham and Annette Hill.
Right from the start, he has been trained locally by Anna Clement, and she was delighted to see him back in the winner’s circle.
“He fought really hard, I thought Allan Sharrock’s horse (Lazio) was going to beat us but he put his head down and fought even harder,” she said. “It’s always nice to see the older horses have a win, so we’re very happy.
“He doesn’t think he’s rising ten, he thinks he’s a two-year-old. He’s always honest, whenever you put a saddle on him he grows an extra hand and he knows he’s here to do a job.
“He’s had four starts here now for two wins and two placings, so being his home track, he seems to go well.”
The Hawera meeting was initially set to be run on Saturday, but severe weather in the region caused for the rescheduled running on Tuesday. Chajaba and Old Town Road, who were third and fourth in the race, both hold nominations for Saturday’s Listed Sinclair Electrical and Refrigeration Opunake Cup (1400m), but Clement won’t be putting in a late entry for her charge.
“I think he’s more of a 1200m horse, so we opted to go for this race instead,” she said.
“Plus, his owners live locally and they don’t travel anywhere now, so it was nice to have a decent Saturday meeting at their home track, where they can come and watch all of their horses racing.
“He’s a good old campaigner and he’s done us proud, as with the owners too.” – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
