Paul King had only one engagement at Rosehill on Saturday but went home a winner as the Kristen Buchanan-trained Two Blue prevailed in the TAB Benchmark 85 Handicap (1200m).
King had to wait until the final race on the program for his sole ride but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he was able to spend his time observing how the Rosehill track was playing.
After leading the way on Two Blue through the middle stages of the race, King maneuvered the six-year-old mare towards the middle of the track in the straight and held off challenges to score a deserved victory.
“That was my first ride of the day and obviously watching the rest of the races that looked like the better patch,” King said.
“I said to the owners before the race, we better not go on the fence at any stage.”
Two Blue ($9) defeated the Chris Waller-trained Kristy Lee ($12) by a long neck, with Foreign Prince ($19) from the David Payne stable finishing a short neck away in third.
King said Two Blue had been slowly working her way back to fitness this preparation and attributed the mare’s return to winning form to Buchanan’s training expertise.
“She’s been going really well this preparation, she had a set-back at the end of last time,” King said. “Kristen had to go back to basics with her, she doesn’t do a lot of galloping on the track with her.
“She does a lot of swimming so it’s taken her three runs to get her fully fit.
“Kristen deserves all the credit, she’s done a great job with her.”
www.racenet.net.au
Tom Walter