SANDRIO earned a 10-day rest at a spelling farm after he surged to a long neck win in yesterday’s $35,000 Akubra Sky Gold Racing Quirindi Cup (1600m).
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The six-year-old son of Jeune also won his trainer Robert Davies and jockey Leanne Henry their first Quirindi Cups when he beat Rod Northam’s Okane by a long neck and stopped Robert Thompson from riding another Lightning-Cup double.
Walcha Cup winner Pitt Street was a length and a half away third.
Henry loves riding Sandrio.
“He’s a beautiful horse, easy to ride,” Henry said.
“I’ve won a couple on him at Newcastle as well as this.”
She has a simple race plan with him as well.
“Sit on him quiet early, let him relax, get to the outside and he’ll finish strong,” she said.
That’s what happened yesterday as he got to the front running down the hill in the middle of the track.
Okane did make a searching last 200m run at him but he hung on for a seventh career win.
Davies also thinks he’s a “nice horse”.
“There would be 700 people who would want him after he’s finished racing (as a hack),” Davies said.
“He’s just a lovely little quiet horse.
“Leanne likes him so much she drives to Cessnock three mornings a week, sometimes four, to ride him in his work,” he said.
“But he’s earned a break now. He’ll go for a 10-day rest and freshen up up at a beautiful place.”
After that he’ll return to Davies’ Cessnock stables and “is good enough to go to town”.
Sandrio has raced in Sydney before too.
“Tommy Berry apologised twice,” Davies said.
“He said he should have won both.”
Thompson might have missed out on the Cup but he did win the Lightning with The Jackal and he also scored with La Luna for Allan Kehoe when the mare won yesterday’s Tragics Class 3 Handicap (1600m).
It continued a great run for Kehoe-trained horses who have won at Tamworth, Taree, Walcha, Kembla Grange and now Quirindi.
La Luna won her third race at her 10th start for Kehoe and owner Mick Coombs, who was on hand to celebrate.
Coombs bought the daughter of O’Reilly in New Zealand and was delighted with her continued improvement.
“She’s doing well,” Coombs said.
“We also had a winner at Kembla Grange the other day with Farm Boy.”
Coombs also owns Centabeel, which won at Walcha’s cup meeting.
