New stars of jumps racing light up Riccarton as Nationals loom

Dictation never looked like being beaten in the Sydenham Hurdles at Riccarton yesterday. Photo / Ajay Berry

Speed is rarely the most important weapon for a steeplechaser, but it was the crucial factor in Jesko landing a tidal wave of bets in the Koral at Riccarton on Saturday.

The new star of New Zealand jumps racing was backed from $2.15 into $1.30 in the feature jumps race, the most important dress rehearsal for next Saturday’s Grand National Steeples.

Even in the rapidly changing world of gambling, where late market swings have become the norm, a $2.15 favourite starting at $1.30, particularly in a race where all the form was widely exposed, is a huge move and one that saw champion jumper West Coast drift from $3 to $8.

But while the market said Jesko was unbeatable in the hands of co-trainer Shaun Fannin, he looked anything but at the 800m mark.

After travelling handy, he appeared to have key rival West Coast covered, but punters who took the short odds would have been nervous when Captains Run got up inside Jesko and put a length on him.

Fannin got Jesko over the second last efficiently enough, then balanced him up and asked for a better jump at the last.

He got it, pushed the turbo button and in three strides the 4250m race was over.

Jesko showed the speed of a horse who was able to place in a 2200m flat race just eight days earlier and was simply too fast for Captains Run and West Coast.

Those two were brave, but heart and stamina were no match for sheer leg speed on a day when Riccarton basked in sunshine rather than producing a winter bog.

The question now for the army of punters in love with Jesko is how much harder the 5600m of next Saturday’s Grand National Steeplechase will be?

And whether Jesko’s younger legs can still outsprint his rivals, especially if the weather changes and the track is deeper?

Fannin, who trains Jesko with his wife Hazel, thinks the horse can handle the more daunting challenge, especially as Jesko can’t be re-handicapped for Saturday’s win.

“The way he got to the line today gives me confidence he can win again next week,” said Fannin.

Jesko is now $1.50 with the TAB to win the National, pushing West Coast out to $4.20 as he attempts to win the race for the fourth straight year.

Earlier in the programme, Dictation suggested he is the horse to beat in next Saturday’s Grand National Hurdles when he bolted away with the Sydenham Hurdles.

It was redemption for the Hastings jumper as he had led and was about to win the same race last year before dislodging his jockey at the last fence, allowing Berry The Cash to win.

A week later Berry The Cash went on to win the Grand National for the second time with Dictation’s co-trainer Paul Nelson opting to bypass the iconic race. That won’t be the case this year.

Dictation had already shown he has improved since last season when he won the Waikato Hurdles two starts ago and the ease of his victory yesterday will worry connections of his rivals next week.

He was bold in front, relaxed after chancing two consecutive fences down the back straight and never really looked in danger of defeat.

He and Berry The Cash now share $2.60 equal favouritism for the Grand National Hurdle.

“I think he will improve with that run too,” said Nelson.

“He missed a little bit of work after he banged a leg following that Te Rapa win [Waikato Hurdles] so this will bring him on.”

Helping Dictation further is the fact he won’t be re-handicapped for Saturday’s race, which means he will still have a 7kg swing in the weights over Berry The Cash when they go an extra 1100m.

Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.