WAGGA trainer Chris Heywood felt a mix of elation and relief after Blitzar made a pre-Country Championships statement with an electric win at Murrumbidgee Turf Club's Australia Day meeting.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The five-year-old bled in his last start at Randwick in October, and was forced out of racing for a mandatory three months.
But his return could not have been any more impressive, posting a superb time of 56.60 seconds to win the Wagga Scamper (1000m) on Wednesday.
Blitzar ($4) had never won first up and didn't have a trial, but Heywood was still confident he could fire a warning shot before the Country Championships at Wagga on February 19.
But he was shocked at the time posted after jockey Brendan Ward took advantage of a good inside gate to position him off the speed, before he let down nicely in the last two furlongs.
OTHER NEWS
"It does (give me confidence), I wanted to make a bit of a statement with the horse," he said.
"I know the horse has got the ability, it's a case of putting him up in lights and people taking notice.
"To run that time, I probably didn't expect that at all, but jeez you're not going to knock it back.
"He'd never won first up until today but we normally trial him too. Today we didn't worry about trialling him, we just sent him straight in.
"He drew a lovely gate which helps, and got put into a nice spot. He's got a massive turn of foot, and can really finish off.
"He had to do a bit of bullocking which maybe even cost him a bit, but he was good at the end."
Heywood said it's always a nerve wracking experience when a horse returns from a significant setback.
"He bled his last run, so he had to be out for three months to come back to racing. Fingers crossed he's good now," he said.
"It always is (nerve wracking) because once he does it (bleeds) again he's gone (from racing).
"It's always a bit of a worry. You always have it in the back of your mind, but you've just got to roll with it.
Heywood said Blitzar will have another lead-up run before the Country Championships.
"I know he can run time but that was smart today," he said.
"He'll have one more run, he'll come here in the Class 4 Preview. He'll get a stack of weight because he's now a Class Four horse, but we'll deal with it."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark dailyadvertiser.com.au
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters