Isaac Lupton has revealed that he's only still riding because of Wise Men Say, his mount in today's Pakuranga Hunt Cup (4900m) at Ellerslie.
The affable jumps jockey will shoot for his sixth win in the feature steeplechase aboard a horse he describes as "potentially one of the best I'veridden", a statement that demands contemplation when you consider Lupton was the regular partner of champion jumper Hypnotize.
"He's the main reason I carried on riding after I had that bad fall a couple of years ago," Lupton said of Wise Men Say.
He broke a shoulder, wrist, ankle and some ribs in a horrific fall on Field Daze at Te Aroha in September 2015.
"It took a lot longer to come right than I'd hoped. I was in hospital for a week afterwards and it all happened at the worst time," said Lupton, who milks 300 cows on his Waverley dairy farm.
"It was at the start of AB [artificial breeding] mating on the farm, which I do myself, so it ended up being a bit of a nightmare. That's probably why I don't ride as much now."
That Wise Men Say motivation to continue riding is approaching its denouement now as the Raymond Connors-trained Yamanin Vital eight-year-old gelding prepares to tackle the Ellerslie blue-riband steeplechase double of the Pakuranga Hunt Cup and Great Northern Steeplechase.
In 12 rides on Wise Men Say, Lupton has won three times and placed in a further four, among the triumphs a 16-length win in the appropriately named Hypnotize Steeples (4000m) at Hawera in May and a breathtaking win in the McGregor Grant Steeples (4190m) at Ellerslie in May.
"He's different to Hypnotize, who was probably a bit classier, and Counter Punch had a bit more class as well," Lupton said.
"He's more of a one-batter, but you know the ability is there. I always thought he'd be a Northern horse. His win in the McGregor Grant was what I thought he'd do last year, but he might have still been a bit new.
"He had no luck in the Northern. He fell but it wasn't his fault [he landed awkwardly at the water jump]."
Lupton holds the record for most wins for a jockey in the Pakuranga Hunt Cup, having racked up his previous wins aboard Bart in 2005, Real Tonic in 2006 and Hypnotize in 2007, 2008 and 2010.
Lupton has two other rides at Ellerslie today, on Coolibah in the Harrison Lane Hurdle and Max in the Memorial Steeplechase.
