Racing: Whip needed for laidback sprint king

Hayden Tinsley got an urgent call from trainer Mark Walker as he left the Te Rapa jockeys' room on Saturday to ride champion sprinter King's Chapel in an exhibition gallop.

"Go get a whip," Walker said.

Tinsley admits he was shocked - and that the call was the correct one.

Tinsley had not been on King's Chapel's back and expected a fiery, pulling, pent-up ride.

What he got instead was a laid-back, casual approach and was pleased to be carrying a whip when the handsome chestnut decided to take a Sunday stroll approach.

"He didn't feel anything like I expected him to. He's a tough, strong horse and with the instructions being to go a quiet 1200m, quickening a bit from the 600m, I thought I'd be pulling quite hard as I've seen him do a few times.

"He didn't have blinkers on, of course, and I expect that will make a big difference."

That difference will be in the group one $100,000 Waikato Draught Sprint at te Rapa on Saturday.

Tinsley said Saturday's feel of King's Chapel would be an enormous advantage when it came to the big race this weekend.

So will advice from Noel Harris, who has ridden King's Chapel several times.

"Noel came to me after the gallop and said: "Don't be surprised if he's a different horse next week. He can fire up and just as quickly drop the bit."

"I'll now be prepared for whatever he does next weekend.

"He'll improve 10 to 12 lengths on what he did today."

Victory in the group one sprint would be compensation for Tinsley for losing the ride on Wahid, dashing winner of the $500,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Classique.

Tinsley rode Wahid in his first two starts for a win and a second and assumed he would have been the rider when Wahid won at Trentham on January 22.

He says he has not been told why he lost the ride.

Wahid's trainer Allan Sharrock, said yesterday that Tinsley had got off one of his stable horses for a recent Palmerston North meeting when he had indicated he would ride it.

"I wasn't too taken with that, so I made the decision to take him off my other horse [Wahid].

"If he hadn't done that he'd still be on Wahid.

"Hayden is a very good rider, make no mistake."

Tinsley shrugs his shoulders.

"It's not the first time it's happened to a jockey. Won't be the last."

Leith Innes rode Wahid at Trentham and was in the saddle again for Saturday's big race.