Nacho Man Wins Manawatu Sires' Produce Stakes

Sunday, 04 April 2010 01:16

Left-hand track specialist Nacho Man gave training brothers Mike and Paul Moroney their third Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes victory and credited 20-year-old jockey Craig Grylls with his third Group One success when he landed Saturday's $200,000 feature at Awapuni.

Adding to the run of threes, Nacho Man was recording his third win from five starts and all three have been on left-handed tracks.

The Mr Nancho gelding has failed twice going right-handed and just doesn’t seem to cope with racing that way around.

Neither of the Moroney brothers were on track at Awapuni yesterday - both instead being in Sydney for the Easter sales - so their father Denny was in charge.

“He’s a real left-hander and we’ve had a tongue-tie on him in his last couple of starts and that’s helped too,” Denny Moroney said.

“He’s had a little bit of a breathing problem but the tongue-tie helps.”

The Moroneys won their first Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes with Happyanunoit in 1998 and added a second success in the race with the ill-fated Jokers Wild in 2006.

For Grylls, who has been number one rider for the Moroneys since the middle of last year, the win was especially satisfying.

“It’s great to win a Group 1 for them because they have been a great help to me,” Grylls said.

The talented rider’s two previous Group 1 wins have been aboard Pasta Post in the ARC Easter Handicap a couple of years ago and Kaaptan in last year’s Diamond Stakes at Ellerslie.

Hamilton supermarket owner Chris Grace was the only one of Nacho Man’s owners on course at Awapuni yesterday. He races the gelding in partnership with Waikato couple Tom and Shelley Murtagh, who were also in Sydney for the Easter sales.

The other two owners are Singapore-based trainer Mike Clements and another Singaporean Peter Pang.

Grace said he has been racing horses for about 25 years and this is his first Group 1 victory.

“I’ve won a lot of races, mostly in Australia, and I’ve won a Ramornie Stakes at Grafton over there,” he said.

Nacho Man was at odds of better than 12 to 1 and got home by 1-1/4 lengths from the race favourite Cellarmaster, with Jimmy Choux half a neck away third.

Cellarmaster jumped brilliantly from the gates and raced a bit keenly in the early stages according to rider Opie Bosson but still fought on well when headed.

Jimmy Choux’s rider, Michael Walker, said the horse felt like he was feeling the firm ground over the final stages but still never gave it away.

“Man he’s got a big heart, Walker said.

Banchee and Lion Tamer were the disappointments in the race, both failing to weigh in.

Banchee’s rider, Leith Innes, said the filly didn’t fully stretch out over the final stages.

“She never let down and I didn’t think she was 100 per cent,” Innes said.

Lion Tamer got well back in the running and never improved, rider Michael Coleman describing it was a very poor performance.