Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
Outstanding horseman Justin Prentice is thoroughly enjoying a return to race driving after concentrating fully on his training over the past couple of years, and he is delighted at Never Ending’s form leading into the $2.1 million TAB Eureka at Menangle on September 7.
Never Ending, the favourite for the Eureka, was not extended in coasting to victory in the $31,000 BOTRA Thanking Our President Free-For-All at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The brilliant four-year-old was seen in an unfamiliar role in the breeze before he surged to the front 115m from the post and won by 2m from Talks Up A Storm, rating 1.54.6 over 1730m, with a final 800m of 56.1sec.
“This was a good learning experience for him, and I’m still learning driving him as well,” said Prentice. “I’m looking forward to Junior (Gary Hall Jnr) back to drive him (after the star reinsman completes a driving suspension).
“I’m trying to enjoy the experience of driving Never Ending at his past two runs. I don’t feel too much pressure because I’ve driven him so much at home that I feel comfortable driving him.
“Obviously, I’ve been trying to win, but you’ve also got to keep in mind he has a bigger goal at the end, and I guess I’m trying to drive him as a trainer.
“This was Never Ending’s first run in a sprint and it had him confused, I think. He was really settled, like we wanted him to be. I just let him come out (at the start) and he settled well, and when I pulled him three deep early, he wanted to go pretty quick then after coming off a helmet.
“But he came back to me and settled in the breeze, a position he has not often been in. He breezed in the Bunbury Cup and hung badly (when a fading sixth behind Jumpingjackmac in March this year), and he breezed in a heat of the two-year-old Pearl when he got charging and took the lead with a lap to go (before winning easily).
“You don’t get horses like him often, or ever, and I had to talk to myself to make sure I enjoy the rise. It might not ever happen again.”
Prentice said that provided that never Ending pulled up well after Friday night’s run, he would contest a 2130m event next Friday night when under the conditions of the race he would draw a wide barrier.
The plans then would be for never Ending to leave by air on the first section of his trip to Sydney. His win on Friday night took his record to 20 starts for 16 wins, two placings and stakes of $624,075.