Pinn kept a cool head and stalked the leader, drawing alongside him at the turn before putting in his customary powerhouse performance down the home straight to score a 2-1/4 length victory over Diamond Jak, with a further three-quarters of a length back to Sharp ‘N’ Smart in third.
“I was bloody nervous before that race,” Marsh said. “There’s the expectation and you just hope such a horse is back to his best.
“I thought Wiremu rode him beautifully. He didn’t panic and the race panned out how we thought. I am very relieved.
“I am very proud of the horse. It is great to see him back at his best. There is a lot of satisfaction for me and our team. There is nothing better than that.”
Pinn has established a strong partnership with El Vencedor, and Marsh was quick to heap praise on the talented hoop.
“Wiremu gets on well with him. I am happy for him too, he helps us out a lot and he deserves that,” Marsh said.
El Vencedor is now set to follow a similar programme to that he did last summer, and Marsh is hoping he can replicate those results that landed him the New Zealand Horse of the Year crown.
“It is a pretty easy path to follow,” Marsh said. “We might end up down at the TAB Mile [Gr.1, 1600m] and then come back up for the Zabeel [Gr.1, 2000m].
“We will get him home and make sure he is good. Those big summer 2000m races is where he will be.”
– LOVERACING.NZ
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.