Rock of Kryptonite is starting to repay the faith of his connections after immediately stepping up on his maiden victory to win in handicap company at Morphettville.
The Phoenix Thoroughbreds owned gelding has always been held in high regard by trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Junior and his win from off the pace on Saturday (March 29) is another step in the right direction.
It’s fair to say that the near two-length success can be marked up further with the original gameplan quickly thrown out of the window. Breaking his maiden with a strong front running performance, the son of Fastnet Rock could not get to the lead thanks to a fierce early pace. Sitting in midfield under Jess Eaton, recording her first win since returning from injury, the gelding and plenty of his rivals didn’t look entirely comfortable tracking some suicidal fractions. Unphased, Eaton nursed her mount into the race and Rock Of Kryptonite was still travelling on the bridle well inside the home straight. It looks as though he was pinned on the rail for a moment, but he impressively squeezed through a gap before moving away to win well.
“It didn’t pan out as we thought,” Eaton told Racing.com post-race. “We thought we’d be pretty close to leading if not ride there. He jumped ok and struggled to muster, so I thought the race might be over right there. But to the horse’s credit, he bounced up and found the gap and hit the line very strong.
“They went quite quick, I did my best to get my horse balanced and to Mick’s credit, he was hard rock fit and found that gap well, so I’m very happy.”
By the time Rock Of Kryptonite was crossing the line in front, the Phoenix Thoroughbreds team were already in a celebratory mood as minor partners in Reloaded. The Snitzel gelding is starting to reward trainer Chris Waller’s patient approach making it back to back wins by taking out the Group Three Lord Mayor’s Cup at Eagle Farm.
A change to more prominent tactics seems to be working the oracle as he impressively landed his first black-type honours. Rider James McDonald had his partner well in touch throughout the 1800m race and turning for home he looked all over the winner. That assumption proved accurate as he power to the front late to record a one-length victory.