By Caryl Williamson SYDNEY, Nov 29 AAP - Hes known as the Rockhampton Rocket but Our Boy Malachi could be in for a name change after his second win at Rosehill, his new home track. His victory in the the Listed Starlight Stakes (1100m) was also a career highlight for the six-year-old, the winner of 15 of his 17 starts. Now with the Hawkes family stable in Sydney, Our Boy Malachi was the well-supported $2.50 favourite and lived up to the punters hopes when he beat a game Dothraki ($3.60) by 1-3/4 lengths. Horses just dont do what hes done, co-trainer Michael Hawkes said. Fifteen wins now. Its ridiculous really. Hes not fully wound up yet and he gave them a towelling. Dothraki stalked him but what this horse does is he extends when hes under pressure, and he did that today. The win will have given his owner Col Donovan a boost after he suffered his second stroke earlier this week. But that has not slowed him down and the only reason he didnt travel from Queensland was that his doctor told him not to fly. Dwayne Dunn did travel, making the trip from Melbourne, although he had a full book of rides at Moonee Valley. Dunn is leading the southern premiership and admitted it was hard to give up the Saturday but his loyalty to the Hawkes team was a priority. Ive made such a good start this season, he said. Ive never had a head start like this so it was a bit difficult but it was great to ride this horse. It doesnt matter where the races are. To win as many as he has is a feat in itself. I just pressed the go button and away he went. Trainer Gerald Ryan was pleased with Dothrakis effort but critical of the handicapping system which meant he had to give the winner 3.5kg. How can a horse win fifteen races and and we have to give it three-and-a-half kilograms, Ryan said. I dont care where you win them. You have to be good to do it. Im very proud of Dothraki but under the benchmark system you pay for consistency, Ryan said. He tried hard and at level weights it would be different. The pair are likely to meet again in two weeks in the Listed Razor Sharp, a quality handicap at Randwick. AAP TURF cw/wb
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 10:33:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015