By David Nagel
Star jockey Jamie Kah thought she was in for an easy time of things when the Peter Moody-trained He’s The Ultimate loomed up like a winner on his home track at Pakenham on Thursday night.
Roughly 20 seconds later, Kah was forced to dig deep to push the three-year-old son of Fastnet Rock/ Spirit of Heaven to a half-head victory in the $35,000 BenchMark 64 Handicap (1200m).
Kah learned a lot after her first sit on the horse, who made it two wins from seven starts after narrowly holding off the challenge of the Greg Eurell-trained No Quarantine.
“On the turn I was thinking how far, he was absolutely flying,” Kah said with a smile post-race.
“I probably got there a bit too soon, but now I know the horse if I ride him again, I’d probably just wait a bit longer or even ride him a pair further back.
“I think he’s got plenty of ability but he just likes to have a think about it still.”
Trainer Moody also had a wry grin when giving his assessment of the victory.
“He looked like he was going to win it a bit soft, didn’t he, but just sort of got a bit blasé when he hit the front…so god bless the width of a cigarette paper – we got the job done,” Moody said.
“He’s a home-bred for Judy Wanless and we’ve had a good trot with these horses the last couple of months, they’re terrific supporters of the stable so let’s hope it continues.”
He’s The Ultimate started a $3.70 favourite at his most recent start at Caulfield on 12 January, but had little luck in running.
More luck, and the services of Kah, made all the difference on the night.
“He just found a very awkward spot that day (at Caulfield), but he got beautiful clear running and a nice steer by Jamie (Kah) this evening,” Moody said.
“He’s still a bit big in condition so there’s probably improvement to come there, we’ve just to keep his mind on the job…you can’t be getting blasé when you hit the front like that.”
Moody and Kah both agreed that He’s The Ultimate had the ability to win a similar class race in town.
“These are basically metropolitan races aren’t they, there’s not a lot of difference there,” Moody explained.
“He’s stakes placed, he’s placed in town, so if we can get his mind wrapped around it I’m sure there’s a metropolitan win in him.”
Kah followed suit!
“I think when the grade rises, I think he will improve. I’d like to ride him just a little bit quieter and now he’s had a win hopefully he can string a few together.”
