Racing: Jumping races elevate Stackhouse

Ashburton apprentice Daniel Stackhouse can thank jumps racing for his successful return to riding on the flat.

Stackhouse gained one of the best wins of his career when combining with Yourtheman in the $35,500 Hawke's Bay Steeplechase at Hastings on Saturday but he has also been making his mark on the flat this season.

The win was Stackhouse's 29th for the season. That has him eighth on the national apprentices' premiership which he says is "pretty good for a South Island apprentice".

Stackhouse was previously apprenticed to Waikato trainer Mark Walker at Matamata but gave up riding a couple of years ago when his weight reached 60kg and returned to work for his father on his South Canterbury farm at Ashburton for a year.

"I was getting heavier and heavier," said Stackhouse.

"It was a battle, a struggle and I wasn't enjoying it. I was wasting hard but I kept putting the weight back on.

"I think I went through a bit of a growth spurt and I needed the year off."

Last year he decided to give jumps racing a go and joined up with Ashburton trainer Pam Gerard and her partner, top jumps rider Tom Hazlett.

"I started riding a few jumpers and my weight got better and better, so I started riding on the flat again," Stackhouse said.

The wins started coming on the flat, his winter riding weight is down to about 54kg and just two months ago he posted his best flat victory when scoring aboard the Gerard-trained Kirkdouglas in a $35,000 race for 3-year-olds at Trentham in Wellington.

The transition to jumps racing was not a quantum leap for Stackhouse after being involved with show jumping as a school kid.

"I was full on into show jumping. I started when I was about 12."

Saturday's win on Yourtheman was just his second over fences from 15 rides in the role but whether he retains the ride on the horse for the $57,500 Grand National Steeplechase (5600m) at Riccarton, Christchurch, on August 14 is dependent on Hazlett's fitness.

Hazlett is sidelined with a broken ankle suffered in the Manawatu Steeplechase last month but has a very strong association with Yourtheman and the horse's Palmerston North trainer Mark Oulaghan.

"Until today Tom had ridden Yourtheman in every jumps race for nearly the last four years," Stackhouse said.

Yourtheman is a relative newcomer to steeplechasing. He has been a top hurdler with his wins including the 2006 Grand National Hurdles and the 2008 Waikato Hurdles.

The 10-year-old gelding, by Yamanin Vital, gained his maiden steeplechase win at Wanganui in May and Saturday's win was his second as a steeplechaser from six starts.

Yourtheman could race at the Wellington winter meeting on July 17 before heading for the Grand National but may not necessarily contest the $50,000 Wellington Steeplechase (5500m). Oulaghan feels the horse can still be competitive over the smaller fences and may instead line him up in the $50,000 Wellington Hurdles (3400m).

Yourtheman was handy throughout the Hastings 4800m race and tackled leader No Rush'n at the top of the straight. He soon gained the upper hand and went on to score by 3 lengths as a $6 second favourite.

Favourite Climbing High ran on well for second. He was some distance from the leader with 1200m to run and was starting to make ground only over the last 600m.

Rider Shelley Houston was questioned by stewards about her ride. Houston said Climbing High would have preferred better footing than the slow conditions that prevailed and the horse had tended to mix his jumping.

Outsider All Redy was 1 lengths back third while No Rush'n weakened to fourth and Logan James was fifth after being handy most of the way.

In the day's other feature, the $33,500 Hawke's Bay Hurdles (3100m), victory went to the Paul Nelson-trained Ho Down in the hands of Chad Ormsby.

Ho Down, the fourth favourite, was back for much of the running but improved quickly to lead at the top of the straight and came clear to score impressively by 4 lengths.

Spirit Of Alaton, who made the pace, fought well for second while half a neck away third was third favourite Harvest Gold who made up a lot of ground after being last most of the way.

Favourite Solid Steel, a stablemate of the winner, got back but improved inside the last 600m. He was involved in a skirmish at the second-last fence and all but fell at the last.

- NZPA