KEY POINTS:
Troy Harris knew he would be in trouble if he didn't get Tell A Tale home in the $1 million Two Thousand Guineas at Riccarton on Saturday.
At the top of the straight, Tell A Tale was at the back of the field and when 20-year-old Harris angled
him towards the outside he got blocked.
He struck more traffic problems, so angled back towards the inside before finishing with lightning bounds to down his father, Noel, on Il Quello Veloce in the last stride.
"I thought I had left my run way too late ... I had a handful of horse and nowhere to go. So I thought if I did not win I would have got my arse kicked," Harris said after the race.
In the end he followed his father on Il Quello Veloce and that proved to be the right passage.
One of the major thrills for Harris, allied with a large payday, was that he finally mastered his 53-year-old father in a tight finish.
"I let out a cheer on passing the post and Dad said, 'I don't think you beat me' and I said, 'I hope I did.' I was pretty confident though." He said his father had beaten him five times in tight finishes "so it was about time I got one on him".
But Noel Harris, ever the competitor, claimed a different figure: "It was the first time he has outridden me. I've beaten him 6-0." He said he did not know who had won. "It is a hard angle. He was getting to me quick on the line and it was just a nod of the head."
Trainer Mark Walker praised the Harris duo: "Noel has taught Troy pretty well."
Walker, enjoying his third win in the Two Thousand Guineas in six years, said many apprentices went astray, but Harris had served his time with Te Akau Stables and was now starting to reap the rewards.
"He has got the makings of a top rider if he concentrates, keeps his work ethic up because he certainly has the talent."
Walker was not about to declare future plans for Tell A Tale, saying he wouldn't rush a decision.
The big question is whether he will head to the $2.25 million New Zealand Derby at Ellerslie in late February with the Tale Of The Cat gelding.
"I'll just let the dust settle. He is out of a Sir Tristram mare and the way he races he looks like he could stay a bit."
If the Walker camp was jubilant, it was a tough day at the office for fellow Matamata trainer John Sargent.
He and his owners missed the $600,000 first prize when they must have thought they had it and his stayer Young Centaur just missed catching Hoorang in the New Zealand Cup. He then had to watch on television his topliner Red Ruler finish third in the Sandown Classic (2400m).
Walker also took third prize in the guineas with Minstrel Court, while South Islander Grimalkin, still a maiden, looks one who will head for the derby after his great run for fourth.
Altered Image was fifth. Rider Michael Coleman felt the horse did not "show much zip", said trainer Paul Moroney. Altered Image will now spell.
- NZPA