It was a wild start, and a Wilde finish. The Symon Wilde-trained Gold Medals won a thrilling and dramatic Brierly Steeplechase (3450m) at Warrnambool yesterday, with the brave Kiwi raiders having to settle for second and third in Victoria.
From the first jump to the last, the fans packed tothe rafters were on the edge of their seat, reports Racing.com.
The well-tried Now And Zen for Darren Weir erred at the first obstacle, dislodging John Allen, and while both emerged largely unscathed, the riderless horse went on to derail the chances of the Eric Musgrove-trained Zataglio — horse and rider Martin Kelly were run off the course and out of contention.
Bookending the dramatic $150,000 feature was the battle between Gold Medals and Kiwi-owned Zed Em — who appeared a beaten horse early in the straight but kept fighting — with the New Zealand-trained Monarch Chimes a further four lengths back in third.
Warrnambool local Wilde said there is now just one more box to tick for him at his home carnival, having won the Wangoom with Arch Symbol in 2009, and the Warrnambool Cup back-to-back in 2009-10 with Hissing Sid when in partnership with father Bill.
Connections of Monarch Chimes have indicated they are keen to back-up on the final day of the carnival, while rider of Zed Em, Steven Pateman, said his horse felt like he pulled up well so Patrick Payne and connections may decide to back-up.
Irish jockey Shane Jackson had it on good intel that Zed Em would give him a fight to the finish — as the Payne jumper did in one of his other rare defeats.
