Catch A Wave's Nullarbor Win Photo by Pacepix
BRILLIANT Victorian raider Catch A Wave gave superstar driver Kate Gath the most satisfying win of her stellar career in last night's $1.25mil Group 1 Nullarbor at Gloucester Park.
And the five-year-old gelding, who had already won a Miracle Mile, smashed through the $2 million prize money barrier in the process.
"That's right up there," Gath said.
"In fact, for sheer satisfaction, it's as good as it gets."
"I felt driving in this race, around this track, was the biggest challenge of my career. I was nervous, and I don't usually get nervous. It's a really special win."
"This horse has been so great to us, and to have him call all the way here, after having his ups and downs over the past 12 months, and to win is just fantastic."
Adding hugely to the moment was the presence of owner Pauline Matthews, wife of the owner Richard Matthews, at Gloucester Park.
"I never go to the races, but something just made me want to be in Perth for this one," said Matthews, who lives near Port Fairy in Victoria.
"Richard loved this horse. He was the horse he'd been waiting to get his whole life. He'll be up there sharing the moment with us."
Richard Matthews passed away in September 2022 when Catch A Wave was just starting his rise to prominence.
"He's more than a horse to us. He's not just the best horse we've had, but it's been such a special chapter of our lives to share with Richard and now Pauline and the family. It just makes wins like this mean so much more," trainer Andy Gath said."
Remarkably, the Nullarbor wasn't on the radar for Catch A Wave until a month before the race.
An aborted attempt at defending his Miracle Mile left Team Gath wondering what to do with their stable star.
"He had an injury scare, which turned out to only be a corn and an abscess, and he recovered quickly, but the Miracle Mile was gone," Andy Gath said.
"It was either put him out for a spell or look at one of the slot races. He recovered so quickly that we had to look at one of the slots. I'll be honest: Our preference was the NZ race (Race By Grins, run last Friday), but all the slots were gone."
"So, we thought about Perth and then got a call from Rob Tomlinson, who manages the Regency Foods slot. It didn't take long before we had a deal done."
"Kate and I did um and ah a bit about going to Perth, but everything has gone right since we came across and we really felt we had him as good as we ever have tonight."
Kate Gath did the rest, taking advantage of a blazing tempo set by the leaders as she sat back in the field and swooping late to beat a very gallant local Minstrel by three metres with a half-head away to outsider Swingband in third spot.
"There was a lot of talk about Spirit Of St Louis and Hot And Treacherous going at it up front, and I was thrilled when they did," Gath said.
"After a lap, I thought we're going to be right in this and then when I got a three-wide trail home I started to get really excited. When I said go, he just put them away."
Minstrel did a mighty job to run second after making a midrace move to sit outside the leader in slick times, while Swingband made plenty of late ground from behind Catch A Wave.
The win gave Andy Gath the "full set" with Group 1 victories in each Australian harness racing state.
"That's pretty satisfying, but the real story for Kate and I is sharing this win, this moment with Pauline (Matthews) and her family. It's why we're in the game," he said.
·Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp
