Left: Cranbourne trainer Chris Hyland and jockey Craig Durden lift the Australian Steeplechase trophy after Toulouse Lautrec’s stunning win on Saturday.By Paul Pickering
CRANBOURNE-trained jumps sensation Toulouse Lautrec looks set to take on the racing world after powering to the post in Saturday’s Australian Steeplechase at Sandown.
The seven-year-old grey carried a handicap of 67kg – and the expectations of punters across the state – around the Sandown Hillside circuit, leading all the way to record his fourth consecutive steeplechase win.
Under the guidance of seasoned jockey Craig Durden, the raging favourite ($2.05) jumped well from the inside gate and was never legitimately threatened.
Trainer Chris Hyland and the connections celebrated as the nation’s newest jumps star surged clear down the hill on the second lap to win by four lengths from Cranbourne neighbour Sugar Daad ($17) and David Hayes’ Anyone We Know ($6.50).
Sugar Daad, prepared by Tom Cowan, mounted the only significant challenge of the race in the straight, but stumbled at the penultimate fence to halt its charge.
Having pocketed a substantial helping of the $101,000 purse on Saturday, the connections of Toulouse Lautrec are now setting their sights on the $252,000 Grand National Steeplechase at Flemington on 5 July – where it will start as a short-priced favourite.
Most pundits also expect the Cranbourne leviathan to head the invitation list for the Nakayami Grand Jump, the world’s richest steeplechase, in Japan next April.
As Hyland noted after the race on Saturday, it was an ominous performance by the top weight in heavy track conditions.
“Craig was pretty assertive on him and he responded well,” Hyland said.
“It’s hard yards at that weight, so if we can get a little bit drier track at Flemington, he’ll be bloody hard to beat.”
Toulouse Lautrec has an eccentric streak that hasn’t always instilled his boss with confidence.
According to Hyland, he is moody, unpredictable and prone to moments of defiance.
“He’s not your standard sort of horse, he might have ADD or something, I don’t know,” he joked.
But Hyland was delighted with the way his charge presented on Saturday morning, and expects him to be fresh and firing for the National, where he is likely to carry some 68kg.
In Saturday’s other feature race, the Australian Hurdle, Adrian Garraway piloted top weight Emgee Rex ($11) to a dramatic victory for Mornington trainer Lyn Tolson.
Garraway timed his run superbly to eclipse Kiwi-bred Charter ($26) by two lengths and third-placed Bullecourt ($21) by three.
It was Garraway’s fifth Australian Hurdle title, and a second – of sorts – for Tolson, who was the part-owner of 2000 winner Jarl.
Meanwhile, there was no joy for Cranbourne trainers Robbie Laing and Mark Webb, as their chances, Terrain and Tadakatsu, finished sixth and eighth respectively.
