Having waited a long time to unwrap his trotting gift trainer Bill Morgan’s patience has been quickly rewarded, with his talented three-year-old putting his best foot forward.
Maori Law’s unbeaten streak reached four at Maryborough yesterday when the Lawman/Sundonna gelding stepped out in the Woodlands Stud Breeders Crown heat and saw off a challenge from Tony Herlihy’s short-priced entrant, Temporale.
It has the Seymour stable buoyant, having stepped carefully with their lightly-raced gelding, who is owned by Fred Crews.
“Early doors he looked like he was going to hit his knee (when trotting) so we put him away as a two-year-old and he must have been out for eight to 10 months,” Morgan said.
“Then we worked him up, had good speed, but just wasn’t good enough to trot early, wasn’t balanced enough, so we put him away for another three months and then we had another go at him again. He was handling the early speed and so we raced him.”
There was still uncertainty, but Morgan was optimistic he had a good one.
“I remember one night when we were getting him going we took him up to Shepparton just to have a run about,” Morgan said. “We were only educating him, he couldn’t balance early so we would work him two-mile and then build him into it.
“One particular night, when Bernadette (Page) was driving a pacemaker, I said just come off his back and let him work home in the quarter and he ran 27.7. If I had have raced him then I think I might have brought him undone because he just wasn’t balanced enough early, so we put him away and waited for him.”
His debut came at Maryborough on July 18, when in Gavin Lang’s hands he won by a head via the sprint lane.
“His first start here he sat behind the leader, they went slow and then sprinted. He was entitled to lose, if they had have ran it true I think he would have won it easy at his first start.”
Further victories followed at Cranbourne on July 30 and Maryborough on August 7, but yesterday presented his most stern test against Breeders Crown aspirants.
“He’s got stronger, in saying that of course (he hadn’t raced) the likes of the Tony Herlihys then,” Morgan said. “Each time he’s racing better horses.”
From gate two yesterday Lang guided Maori Law to the front and followed a 42.7 lead time with 31.6 and 31.9 first and second quarters.
Temporale remained in the one-one through a 29.6 third quarter, drawing wide at the final bend and almost level with Maori Law, but the latter matched every stride and in a 28.0 final quarter won by 2.1m, with Hudson Bay third.
“I didn’t know whether he could or he couldn’t (beat the likes of Temporale), but when he got the cheap splits I had a gut feeling, and I said to young Bernadette, that I don’t know if (Temporale) can beat him now.”
Next stop is the Sunday, August 28, Breeders Crown finals at Tabcorp Park Melton, where the Group 1 $60,000 prize will have Maori Law square off against fellow heat winner Sundons Courage, Vicbred champion Cruisin Around and Geoff Webster’s Big Jack Hammer among others.
It’s a challenge Morgan is looking forward to, in a matter-of-fact kind of way.
“Breeders Crown only comes around once a year, if it wasn’t around normally you would put him away, but he is paid up for it and after that we will put him away, give him a freshen up and in another preparation we should find him better again.”
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