WHAT A LITTLE CHAMPION!!!!

I know he is a long way short of being a Champion in the true sense however nobody can tell me that my little mate GUYNO is anything but a Champion in my eyes.

What a run and what a performance from this game little horse to win yesterday's Mornington Cup. Run over 2400m on an undulating leader biased track, GUYNO had to be ridden outside his usual manner but was still able to beat a handy field of up and coming stayers. GUYNO was caught three deep after being slow out of the barriers and there was nothing Jason Whiting could do but sit there and hope. If you wanted to have a rider on a horse in a staying race who could stay cool when the odds are stacked against you in running, I doubt there would be anyone better than the Fish.

We decided pre race that we wanted GUYNO to be either in front or on top of the leader ready to pounce at the top of the straight. I guess he was in that position but hardly what you would call ready to pounce with the leader having kicked away and GUYNO under extreme pressure. To his credit, the horse put his head down and didn't throw in the towel, eventually winning in a close photo. I am the first one to tell you that I was very confident that we had been beaten by a neck as we watched the race from at least 50m past the post. Just when we had finished congratulating one another on the huge performance and the fact that the horse had earned some stake money to pay for the trip, his number went up in the frame as the winner.

It is hard to explain the feeling as GUYNO has given me some great moments over the past few seasons however none better than how I felt after yesterday's gutsy win. He really has developed into my most favourite horse ever over many years of involvement in the industry and I reckon there might even be another win in him somewhere yet.

The horse will head off to S.A. tonight where he will be given an easy week before we step up his work at the end of the month in preparation for the Lord Reims over 2600m then the Adelaide Cup over 3200m. If he gets into the Cup on a reasonable weight he is capable of giving the race a huge shake. Meanwhile I need to go for a long walk to help clear my rather fuzzy head and then head over to Adelaide to await the arrival of my mate.

A special word of thanks to all who have been involved in helping to make the win possible from all the staff back at home through to Tommy Kelly who has been in Melbourne looking after the horse. Great effort guys.And a big thank you to all the crew at David Hayes stable at Flemington for making us feel so welcome.

HOOFNOTE:
I don't want to sound like a smart arse after the event but can anyone tell me why six (experts) tipsters in the local paper here in Melbourne yesterday morning, all having four selections each in the thirteen horse field, failed to give him any chance at all. Not one person mentioned his name! I can still remember the words of the great jockey JJ Miller when he said to me, "don't ever be scared to take them on. If you think your horse is good enough then take them on and don't worry about what they think." You were right again JJ.

Whilst on my bandwagon, it was strange that GUYNO never rated a mention on the P.R. website pre race either. Plenty of stories about eastrern states runners and trainers in Melbourne this coming week but GUYNO wasn't good enough to crack a mention. Thanks guys! Keep up the good work.