Tough-as-teak Nicconi 6yo gelding Niccanova carried his top weight of 59kgs to an all the way win in Saturday’s Listed Bernborough Handicap (1600m) at Eagle Farm.
The Steve Tregea-trained gelding was there to be beaten when challenged by Looks Like Elvis inside the 200 metres, but he turned that back to win by a neck with a long neck to Cool Chap in third.
Jockey Jim Orman said it was not the plan to lead.
“I want to say sorry to Steve for giving him a heart attack in the run. I didn’t have much option, there was not much speed on paper and I was hoping to be fifth or sixth but I was going to be three-wide so I rolled forward,” Orman said.
“He’s tough this horse he just keeps on fighting.”
Niccanova advances his record to 9 wins, 3 seconds and 3 thirds from 23 starts with earnings of $689,175.
Tregea said his homebred son of Nicconi was the star of the stable.
“I didn’t expect him to lead today because Jimmy and I had a good talk about it and we were worried he was drawn wide in a race where there didn’t look to be much pace
“He just needs cover but when he was going to be caught three wide he did the right thing.
“I thought about taking the blinkers off him today but thought I wont change anything, I was to and from but it worked out well in the end.
“He’s been underrated because he has had a few injuries along the way, little bones chipped off his canon, he was upside down in the float one day, little things that have slowed him up.”
Bred and retained to race by Windemere Stud, Niccanova is the first foal of unraced Snippetson mare Dananova, who comes from the family of juvenile stakes-winner Ploverset and New Zealand Group I winner Southern Lord.
Dananova died in November 2017 shortly after foaling a filly by Whittington.
Nicconi has 11 entered for the Magic Millions, 18 at the Inglis Classic and 10 at the Inglis Premier.
