Te Akau trainer Mark Walker made history at Ballarat on Sunday with an unprecedented trifecta in the A$400,000 Ecycle Solutions Grand National Steeplechase (4500m).
Walker saddled Leaderboard (Street Cry) for a 25-length win in the showpiece steeplechase, with The Mighty Spar (NZ) (Savabeel) second and Prismatic (NZ) (Savabeel) third.
It capped an enormously special Sunday for Walker and the Te Akau Racing team, who also took three runners to Taupo and came away with three winners – Carsolio, To Bravery Born and In Haste.
Former Gr.3 Wellington Cup (3200m) and Listed New Zealand St Leger (2600m) winner Leaderboard settled in second spot on Sunday for jockey Will Gordon before taking command when topweight Stern Idol began to tire.
Leaderboard and the favourite Noonday Gun seemed set to fight out a tight battle to the finish, but Noonday Gun fell at the final fence and left Leaderboard to cruise to a runaway win.
“I can’t really believe it,” Gordon said. “I went out there without any pressure, just riding my race, riding the horse. Going down the back the last time, I thought, ‘I’ve still got a bit of horse here and might be in the finish.’
“He’s a legend of a horse. Everyone that rides him, or has anything to do with him, just loves and adores him.
“There will be a line out the door that want this horse at the end of his racing career. He’s such a gentleman, such a dude to do anything with, a great jumper, and what you saw today was no better of example of that.
“There are no chinks in his armour. He jumps, travels, and I was happy where we were in the run to be tracking Stern Idol. We got easy enough sectionals behind him and I thought he would be vulnerable late.
“We were able to sit on his tail, conserve energy, and like I said, his jumping was great. He did the rest.
“For me, the win is right up there. This is one that has been missing off my mantelpiece and to tick this one off, they’re hard races to win and only come up once a year.”
Leaderboard has now had 68 starts for 12 wins, 19 placings and A$861,388 in stakes. Five of his wins have come over jumps, including four steeplechases.
“It was a great ride by Will and it’s great to see all three horses come back safe,” Walker said.
“The girls that strap them, Hayley (Morton) with the winner, Emma (Wilson) with The Mighty Spar, and Lisa (Strike) with Prismatic – they just love these horses. They’re got a dual purpose as well, these older horses, because they help out in the stables by educating the yearlings.”
Leaderboard is raced by John Galvin’s Fortuna Leaderboard Syndicate.
“The win would have to go down as one of the highlights we’ve had with Fortuna Racing,” Galvin said on Sunday.
“The big thing I felt about today was redemption for Leaderboard, because he had that unfortunate fall in the Brierley Steeplechase (3450m), back in April, but he’d run three very good races since then for seconds.
“He’d been beaten by Stern Idol in two of those, and today he was able to come out and beat not only Stern Idol, but also the up-and-comer Noonday Gun.
“It was a huge thrill. The whole race, he was right there. You got the feeling he was always going to be in contention, provided, A, he could run past Stern Idol, and, B, he was able to fend off the grey horse (Noonday Gun).
“We had two of his owners with us, Shane and Colleen Ivory, and they were here last year, as well, when he ran second. So, it was great for them to be here today and see him win.
“It’s an unbelievable training feat by Mark (Walker) to get the trifecta, the first time it’s ever been done in the race.
“While having plenty of international experience, Mark is a relatively new trainer to the Australian racing circuit, and he’s managed to have his three runners fill the first three placings in the most prestigious jumps race in Australia.
“It’s a great effort and for him, specifically, with Leaderboard. He just loves the horse to bits and has nurtured him over the last few years to create an outstanding jumps career.”
