Upset win by Sandcastle

Sandcastle, confidently ridden by Terry Moseley, ran the field ragged, bolting home a comfortable winner at odds of 40 to one in the open handicap at Ashburton yesterday.

The win was a surprise to many, but not so to trainer Ian Rogers who knew the horse had the ability. However, he did have his reservations about the first time for Sandcastle over 1200m.

"He has had 30 odd races, but never raced over the 1200 metres," Rogers said.

"It might just about be his new pet distance now. He has been working really well so I knew he would run well today, but I didn't expect that well."

Patiently handled by Rogers, Sandcastle was a nice fifth behind Stupendous in last month's New Zealand Cup carnival. Prior to that, Sandcastle ran behind the nice types in Minqar Qaim and Hold It Harvey.

An eight-year-old gelding by Sandtrap out of Ambassadress, Sandcastle's victory yesterday was his ninth win and he has now earned his connections more than $111,000 in stakes.

Rogers said it was likely Sandcastle would head to the West Coast circuit and he thought it would be a perfect trip for him.

"He will just love it other there. I think he still has a few more wins in him, he is only an eight-year-old so hopefully he can continue on with it."

Second went to Showusyahalo who stormed home late to go down three quarters of a length for Robert Hannam and trainer Shane Kennedy, while Snipza Gold made good inroads late to finish third.

The James McDonald-Mark Walker combination was again to the fore yesterday with a winning double for one of the most lethal duos in thoroughbred racing.

They kicked off with Kidult in the 1200m maiden before backing up in the next race with Tenacity, who pulled out a half a length victory over the dead heaters Grasse and Mystique.

- © Fairfax NZ News