Racing: Pressure may account for Sky Heights' dismal showing

MELBOURNE - Sky Heights must have been reading newspapers about all the mind games going into Saturday's $A2 million Cox Plate.

That could be the only explanation for the worst performance of multi million dollar winner's career.

The horse who was going to take it to Sunline could not take himself into the race and would not have beaten a cart horse home.

Sky Heights seemed to have fried his brain. Perhaps the pressure was too much.

Never before has there been so much hype about the tactics of a race.

There are few more even tempers around in racing than those belonging to Trevor and Stephen McKee, but Trevor admitted the media pressure over how the opposition was going to tactically beat Sunline had niggled at him a couple of times during the week.

"It was good to give a little back at times," said McKee after the great victory.

Stephen McKee said while this was the greatest pressure race for the camp, Sunline had always measured up to take the pressure away.

"She's one of those horses who overcomes pressure. She gets the pressure off you."

The McKees are thankful to rider Greg Childs for his cool temperament.

"If Greg has felt any pressure at all, he's never let us know about it," said Stephen.

Childs' placid demeanour was never more obvious than in the crush of the pre-race media circus in the mounting yard.

While several runners were stirring themselves up, Childs left his feet out of the stirrup irons and, with legs dangling, had time for a joke with racing scribe Brendon Clements.

If there was anxiety it was well hidden.

It may not have been obvious to anyone on Saturday, but the McKees believe 2000m is not Sunline's best distance.

"She's really an 1800m horse.

The 2000m is beyond her best at this level, but she's stepped up to their distance today and beaten their brains in."

Old habits die hard. Trevor McKee, these days one of racing's wealthiest players, does not forget what it is like to be a broken-down jumps jockey.

While several of his Cox Plate training colleagues were wining and dining in Melbourne on Friday night, McKee was riding security shotgun in the back of his car, which was parked across the front of Sunline's box at Mike Moroney's Flemington stables.

"Some people might think it's an overkill, but you'd never forgive yourself if something went wrong."

Asked if he had spent a comfortable night, McKee said: "No."

One admirable part of Trevor McKee's make-up is that he never changes.

Asked on Saturday if Sunline has changed his life, McKee said: "No, I still get up at 4 am."