Racing: Kuru takes out $260k GN Hurdle

Aaron Kuru and Tallyho Twinkletoe on their way to winning the Grand National Hurdle at Sandown yesterday afternoon. Photo / Getty Images

From Riccarton disasters to Sandown triumph.

Aaron Kuru's weekend summed up life as a jumps jockey — if you happen to be a very good jumps jockey.

Kuru went to Riccarton for the first day of the National carnival on Saturday with serious winning chances in both the major hurdle and steeple, the lead-up races to the Grand Nationals this week.

But No Change (hurdle) and Des De Jeu (steeple) crashed in the home straight, which meant Kuru got up close and personal twice with the Riccarton grass. It was probably the only time he felt happy the track was a Heavy11.

Not only are No Change and Des De Jeu all right but so too was Kuru: 24 hours later he won the biggest race of his life at Sandown in Victoria yesterday afternoon.

Kuru, a former NZ softball rep, had a luxury trip on Tallyho Twinkletoe in the A$250,000 ($260,000) Australian Grand National Hurdle and the eight-year-old bolted in, winning by nearly five lengths easing down.

Tallyho Twinkletoe adds the Australian National to the NZ National Hurdle he won remarkably four years ago, losing a huge chunk of his career to injury.

Trained by Kevin Myers, as he tends to do these days, the Wanganui horseman sent Tallyho Twinkletoe to close friend Paddy Payne for this campaign and considering the gelding has already won his maiden steeplechase and is the veteran of just 15 career starts he could become a huge star in both forms of jumping if his legs don't betray him again.

Kuru says Saturday's dramas only served to motivate him for yesterday.

"If you ride enough horses you are going to have some crashes in our game," he says matter-of-factly.

"But it only makes me want to try harder. So I was always going to make it here [Sandown] because I really wanted to be on this horse. He is such a great stayer."

Kuru managed to bounce off the Riccarton turf into the Sandown winner's circle, but yesterday's National wasn't so kind to fellow New Zealand rider Emily Farr. She fell at the same fence as Kuru when riding Laekeeper in the Sydenham Hurdles on Saturday but recovered quickly enough to ride pre-post favourite Gobstopper in the National Hurdle yesterday.

But as if to confirm what everybody in racing knows, that in a jumps jockey's life there are a lot more reality checks than fairytales, Gobstopper dropped out in the Hurdle yesterday and was pulled up.

A vet examination revealed he had suffered a heart fibrillation.

Farr and Kuru will return to New Zealand today and be at Riccarton on Wednesday, giving Kuru a chance at winning three Nationals in six days.

"Both those horses who fell on Saturday were fine after so I think they will line up in their Nationals," he said.

Wednesday's National Hurdles meeting will have a huge bonus for punters with the mid-week Pick6 guaranteed to $200,000 and with $113,000 of carry-over money in the pool it could easily reach $300,000.