Racing: Tough slog for horse, trainer

After dashing to the front entering the home straight Jimmy Choux proved too strong in the Telecom Derby. Photo / Natalie Slade

If you thought Jimmy Choux was pleased to get to the end of what was a giant slog to win Saturday's $2.2 million Telecom Derby, so was trainer John Bary.

"He'll never race again at 2400m," Bary was quick to get out even before a muddy Jimmy Choux returned to the Ellerslie birdcage.

You got the impression Bary made that statement for himself at least as much as he made it on behalf of his hugely gallant 3-year-old.

Despite protestations that he at no stage got nervous before one of his highly successful polo tournaments and was equally taking the white-hot Derby preparation in his stride, Bary looks to have lightened a bit more than Jimmy Choux in recent weeks.

Which is almost certainly one of the plus factors that allowed Jimmy Choux to successfully take the preparation required to sustain him through the toughest 2400m we can remember in the past decade.

Jimmy Choux almost looks big in condition, particularly around the belly, and much credit is owed to the relatively inexperienced John Bary for being sufficiently astute to know his horse well enough to break with conventional thinking and not race Jimmy Choux for a month leading into the country's toughest classic.

The previous five Derby winners had gaps of 14, 14, 7, 14 and 14 days between their final Derby lead-up race and the classic.

It almost seems like Jimmy Choux has been racing often through a long season.

But in numbers of starts his lead-up has not varied greatly from each of the five previous Derby winners since the classic was moved in 2006 from Boxing Day to March.

Wahid in 2006 had seven lead-up races as a 3-year-old, Redoute's Dancer six, C'est La Guerre seven, Coniston Bluebird eight and Military Move, last year, seven.

Jimmy Choux had seven.

He did start the earliest of each of those Derby winners, kicking off his spring campaign by being beaten a nose in the Wanganui Guineas on September 4.

But last season Military Move started off only five days later on September 9. Coniston Bluebird began his 3-year-old racing on September 24, C'est La Guerre, October 22; Redoute's Dancer, October 18; and Wahid, October 8.

The difference is the way Bary raced Jimmy Choux whose races were on September 4, October 2, November 6, November 26, December 26, January 22, February 5 and March 5.

Almost a month between runs on each occasion except for the two-week gap leading up to the Waikato Guineas at Te Rapa.

By contrast, Military Move had close enough to three months between the 2000 Guineas at Riccarton on November 7 to the Trentham meeting on January 23.

Remarkably, Jimmy Choux was yesterday morning in wonderful shape on the Clevedon farm where he is temporarily housed.

"I'm looking at him right now and his coat and eye look look great," said John Bary, who claimed he pulled up even better after a night's celebration in Auckland's Viaduct.

Bary yesterday afternoon flew to Sydney to arrange accommodation for Jimmy Choux during his campaign for the Rosehill Guineas and Doncaster Handicap.

The Hawkes Bay horseman has not ruled out any possibility for stabling, but yesterday was favouring Warwick Farm ahead of Randwick or Rosehill.

"Everyone says you've got to watch out for the heat in Sydney at this time of year and Randwick is probably the best option for avoiding that, but there are no yards in Randwick or Rosehill.

"I'm keen to find him somewhere with a yard and where he can be walked every afternoon."

You don't even ask the question whether Jonathan Riddell will be on Jimmy Choux in the Rosehill Guineas, but the heavyweight rider will have to pass over the reins because of the horse's light handicap in the Doncaster.

The likely replacement will be an Australian jockey.

"I've already spoken to a couple of lightweights, but nothing has been confirmed. The Doncaster is still six weeks away."

John Bary is already in contention for trainer of the year for his handling of Jimmy Choux.

If he can successfully drop the 3-year-old back from 2400m to 2000m in the Rosehill Guineas then back again to 1600m against the older horses in one of Australia's greatest races, the Doncaster, he'll be a shoo-in.

Or a choux-in, whichever you prefer.