Melted Moments might make things hard for himself – it’s rare for a jockey to jump off the gelding and not comment where he went wrong – but it doesn’t matter, the gelding just keeps on winning.
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Despite giving away as many as 13 benchmark rating points to other starters, giving jockey Geoffrey Snowden a hard time in the saddle and being headed down the straight, Melted Moments came away with the win in Armidale on Sunday.
The victory in the 1300-metre Rapidclean 20 Years In Business Open Showcase Handicap was Melted Moments third win on the trot and his fourth in five starts.
But if he’s so hard to ride, how does he keep winning?
“He’s just tough,” Melted Moments’ trainer Paul Grills said.
“Geoffrey said yesterday he didn’t want to come around the bend.
“He’s not a good horse to ride, when they [jockeys] get off, they always say they have trouble with him.”
Despite knowing the horse so well – Grills said he “half-broke” Melted Moments in and did a lot of work with him – the win still came as a shock to the Guyra trainer.
“I thought there was some quality horses in there and he’d struggle – especially around that tight track,” Grills said.
“Even though he’s had three wins there, the track doesn't suit him that well. He just doesn’t let horses go past him.”
One thing Grills wouldn’t mind would be if Melted Moments – who’s owned by a group of friends including Grills’ wife – won by a handier margin.
The gelding’s last three official margins ranged between 0.1 and 0.2 lengths.
“It’d take the pressure off but a win’s a win,” Grills said.
Melted Moments’ – who’s previously had troubles with over-heating from trying too hard – rating has quickly jumped from 54 to 65 before Sunday’s race.
Grills expected the rating to jump again and has the Armidale Cup in his sights.