Shaun Phelan with Hit The Road Jack. Photo / Trish Dunell
Shaun Phelan was thrilled to have his plan for Hit The Road Jack come to fruition when the promising gelding scored impressively on debut over the fences at Warrnambool on Sunday.
The Jakkalberry 8-year-old had plenty to offer as a flat galloper winning seven and placing in a further 14 races for Phelan, alongside a pair of fifths in the Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) and Gr.2 Avondale Cup (2400m).
A successful jumps jockey himself, Phelan recognised Hit The Road Jack’s potential as a hurdler and sent the gelding to join the Warrnambool stable of Symon Wilde in May. His final lead-in run at Caulfield resulted in a strong fourth, placing him among the favourites for the maiden hurdle contest closing at $3.
Expat Kiwi hoop Aaron Kuru allowed Hit The Road Jack to find his feet early but soon had him travelling comfortably and jumping well in behind the pacemaker Buoyant. The main contenders made a line of four approaching the final fence at the 400m and Hit The Road Jack was still full of running in the straight, comfortably pulling away in the finish to score by 4-¼ lengths.
Watching from home in New Zealand as a co-owner, Phelan was rapt to see the gelding win so dominantly.
“Aaron Kuru talked me into sending him to Symon Wilde, so it’s great that he got to ride him and that it’s all paid off,” Phelan said.
“I’ve always wanted to send horses over there and I felt he had the flat ability to go and be competitive in the jump races, so we were lucky to have Symon take him on, and he’s done a fantastic job with him.
“He ran a good race on the flat over there so I think they’ve realised he might have a flat win in him as well, and they’re looking to build up towards a nice hurdle race on the 25th of August on the same day as the Grand National at Ballarat.
“His syndicate have got 50% and some of Symon’s clients have got in on him as well, so hopefully I’ll be able to get over there to watch him.”
Phelan had also contemplated a future across the Tasman for Pacheco but opted to keep the Makfi gelding on home soil, a decision that has paid dividends thus far with the exciting jumper remaining unbeaten in two hurdle attempts at Te Rapa on Saturday.
“Pacheco and Hit The Road Jack schooled and were prepared together, but Pacheco is a bit difficult when it comes to travelling, so we thought he would be better suited staying here,” Phelan said.
“He definitely improved off his first hurdle start, and Jay (Kozaczek, jockey) gave him a great ride.
“Jay has come over from the UK with us and rides a bit of Pacheco’s work and schooled him so he knew the horse well, he rode him to perfection.”
Pacheco’s ability on the flat allows Phelan to be selective about the remainder of his campaign, however, that may include either of the Grand National Hurdle (4200m) or Great Northern Hurdle (4200m) over the coming months.
“We’ve just got to work out our plan of what we’ll do with him next, he’s got to step up to the next grade, so we are contemplating aiming him at the Grand National down south,” he said.
“But obviously with the travel, we may have to slowly make our way down the country to get him there, otherwise we may just wait for the Great Northern Hurdle or the Jericho Cup qualifying race with his flat ability.
“He’s pretty versatile and has plenty ahead of him either way.”
Based out of Cambridge, Phelan has elected to focus on training this season after a fall at the Warrnambool May Carnival last year and admitted watching from the sidelines provides a very different perspective.
“I can remember when I was riding for Craig Thornton years ago, I couldn’t work out why he would get so nervous, but now I can see why,” he said.
“When it’s out of your hands it’s a different feeling, I probably get more nervous training them than when I was riding them.
“I decided this season that I really needed to focus on my training and our horses, a year ago when I got hurt it really took a toll on my training and financially it hurt me a bit as well.
“I just want to get a good base behind me, I’d love to do be doing both but it’s just not working out that way at the moment. I’m not retired, I may come back to riding but we’ll see what happens.”