She has done it again.
Nat McCall has 10 horses in work (most of them juveniles) and she has come to town and picked off another city race, this time however it wasn’t your average Saturday race, it was the Group 3 Healy Stakes with River Lad.
The horse has always shown ability but his win on the weekend was outstanding. Tim Bell rode the horse very well and when he got the horse to the outside on straightening it was all over. Like most punters I thought Excellantes may pack a few more punches late, but River Lad has now stamped himself as a genuine ‘black type’ performer.
“He even surprised me a little bit. I thought he’d be up with the place-getters and within a couple of lengths, but when he let down, he sprinted quicker than Excellantes.” Nat told me.
The biggest concern for McCall now is deciding what path to take. “He’ll either go to the Ramornie (1200m Grafton), or that Saturday at Warwick Farm there is a Listed 1400m race. He has pulled up enormous from the run and you wouldn’t know he’s been around.” McCall said.
As the followers of the site would know Nat told us after his 1st up win last prep on a heavy track that he was very flat after the effort on that surface. To hear that the horse has come through this run so well is a great sign heading into its next few runs.
As long as Nat can keep the freshness in him the Ramornie may well be a very good target for this horse. He handles all track conditions and he can race both forward or back. He has won over 1600m so there is a chance he may want further, but as we know they usually truck along in the Ramornie and it sets the race up for the strong horses late.
It is always fun catching up with Nat as she is a lovely person and she deserves the recognition of the great job she has done with a small team. I am sure this will help kick start a bit more publicity for her and the stable may grow because of it. Good stuff Nat!
