Catch A Wave after winning the 2023 Chariots of Fire Photo by Hamilton Content Creators
CATCH A Wave showed he was right back on target for a Nullarbor title defence with a sparkling Geelong win last night.
The six-year-old made a lie of his lacklustre Miracle Mile run when he circled the field from last in blistering time to gun-down leader and main danger, Rocknroll Hammer, to win by a neck.
The 1min51.9sec mile equaled the track record.
Catch A Wave did a remarkable job to come wide and from so far back the way the race was run with a slow 57.5sec first half official closing splits of 54.4 and 26.9sec.
Catch A Wave was clocked to run his own last half in 53.8sec, much off it out three-wide.
You had to love the way he still savaged the line.
“Not many horses could do what he did, but he’s got the sort of speed he can do it,” trainer Andy Gath said.
“The leader didn’t stop, we had to get to him. The quickest quarter of the race was the last one.”
Gath said it was evident Catch A Wave wasn’t quite at his top at his previous run in the Miracle Mile.
“He had no chance from last the way the race was run, but he did tie-up and we didn’t have the best of him,” he said.
Gath is following an almost identical plan to last year’s Perth raid.
Catch A Wave won a 1720m Melton free-for-all on March 30, last year, before heading to Perth early for a lead-up run at Gloucester Park before the Nullarbor.
The gelding then famously won the Nullarbor/Fremantle Cup double.
“The only difference this time is that we may give him another run next week at Melton before we fly out on April 14,” Gath said. “We’ll see how he is over the next couple of days.
“Like last year, the plan is to run him at Gloucester Park the week before the Nullarbor and race three weeks in a row over there.”
More immediately, Gath said his classy trotting mare Im Ready Jet had settled well with caretaker trainer Michelle Wallis since arriving in NZ on Thursday.
She is one of five Aussies in the eight-horse $NZ600,000 TAB Trot field at Cambridge next Friday night.
“Kate and I are going across Tuesday and will drive her in her final workout,” Gath said.
“We think she’s in the zone at the right time. She’s had the two wins back and her work here before leaving was terrific.
“We’re confident she’ll be very competitive, especially with the preferential (barrier) draw the mares get.”
The other Aussies in the race are: The Locomotive, Arcee Phoenix, Queen Elida and Not As Promised.
On the same night, a rematch between Leap To Fame and Don Hugo from the Miracle Mile will headline the $NZ1mil Race by betcha.
PHOTO: Club Menangle/Pacepix
