It happens often. Just when you are about to give up on a horse they come and surprise you. None were more surprised than Alyson Wright as Iknow finally brought his homework to the track in the card opener at Greyville yesterday. “You don’t know how frustrating this horse has been,” Wright revealed. “He’s a really nice horse with a great temperament but he just wasn’t putting it in on the racetrack. In fact I was so busy shouting for our other horse that I didn’t notice him.

“We were contemplating scratching him and trying for a 1900m next week. But we phoned the owners and they said to run him.” Craig Zackey, showing no ill effects from his bad tumble last week and down to ride Amor Ardiente at the request of Belinda Impey, confirmed Wright’s assessment.

“He’s good looking and has a beautiful action. He will probably be better 1200m to a mile.”

Favourite Chiron was under pressure early and never in the hunt.

Three winners last Sunday saw Dennis Drier take his tally of winners to eight for the month and it was number nine as the gelded Blackburn Roc doddled the second in spite of Drier having reservations before the race. “I some doubt before the race because there were some fancied runners but the little horse has done nothing wrong. I said to Eric (Stephenson) he’s a huge runner.”

And so it proved as Sean Veale took him to the front early and extended his lead with every stride. “He was unlucky last time. He was green with Mandla,” said Veale.

Things didn’t quite work out for the stable in the third as Hole In One took a bump out of the gate and was shuffled back to last while stable companion Walterthepenniless was caught wide for much of the race.

Donovan Dillon took full advantage on Doug Campbell’s runner Farland, pinching an early lead in the straight. At one stage Walterthepenniless looked certain to reel him in but Dillon extracted more from his mount and held off the challenge by a head.

It was a 1-2-3 for Ashburton trainers in the fourth but not quite in the order that most punters would have liked.

Fleek was well supported to crack a string of runner-up berths and 100m out, although under pressure, the favourite was holding on. However, Muzi Yeni extracted more from Lowan Denysschen’s filly Such A Rush and she pulled clear of a game Fleek with Lola Crawford’s Spring Lightning getting up for third.

The one-eyed mare Gorgeous Guest was game in his last win over course and distance and she turned in another brave performance when making all the running to win the fifth to give Alyson Wright a double. Apprentice Ashton Arries had no hesitation in taking his mount to the lead and was never seriously challenged. Luke-warm favourite Dunzie was given every chance but appeared reluctant to go on with her effort and held on narrowly for second from top weight Amber Furst.

The Garth Puller/Khanya Sakayi combination have been red-hot in recent weeks and they added another to their fast-growing list of winners when London Knight went back-to-back in the sixth. Front runners, helped by a tailwind, were not stopping at Greyville yesterday and London Knight kept rolling under Sakayi. This was Sakayi’s 15^th win of the season and Puller’s 10^th.

Q The Music finally made it to the winner’s enclosure in the seventh but it was only just as he was hard-pressed by stable companion Winter’s Coming with a short-head in it at the line.

Q The Music was running on empty the last 100m but Garth Wright kept him hard to his task to deny apprentice Jabu Jacobs the first winner of his career.

Seasoned galloper Emperor Niarchos has been a soldier for Frank Robinson and has taken a new lease on life in the twilight of his racing career. But it was just not enough in the last race as he was nailed on the line by Samsonite who came from the clouds under Sherman Brown. Emperor Niarchos was still going great guns at the wire but it just wasn’t enough.

By Andrew Harrison