Our Daymo too tough in Te Aroha test

[Wandering Eyes]

Talented hurdler Our Daymo (NZ) (Zed) did it the tough way to maintain his unbeaten status over fences at Te Aroha on Sunday.

A capable flat performer, Our Daymo switched over to jumping at just his ninth start and took to the new role immediately, defeating a subsequent winner in Quid at Trentham in late June. The son of Zed appeared on the flat in between that race and Sunday’s Peter and Jess Brosnan Hurdle (3100m), where he closed second-favourite behind Jerricoop.

In the hands of English hoop Ashley Dascombe, Our Daymo settled near the tail of the field early, negotiating his fences well as English Gambler went forward to take up his customary role as pacemaker.

Entering the second lap, Our Daymo was caught three-wide and covered plenty of extra ground as the pressure began to dial up along the back straight. He looked to be feeling the effects of the tough trip and was under a ride nearing the 800m, but he responded to Dascombe’s urgings, picking up again as Abu Dhabi led the field into the straight.

It was a two-horse war between Abu Dhabi and Invisible Spirit over the last couple of fences, with neither horse giving an inch, but after switching back to the inside, Our Daymo came powering up and outsprinted the pair to defeat Invisible Spirit by a long neck, with Abu Dhabi less than a length back in third.

Dascombe is based with Our Daymo’s trainer Raymond Connors, and he made no secret of how highly he thinks of the gelding.

“He’s by far my favourite horse now, he’s unbelievable and just gives and gives,” Dascombe said. “He’s been like that since I rode him at Trentham, even at home, he’s just tough and tries.

“I wanted to be a bit further forward because I had to make up ground turning in, but he jumped well.

“We did think they might be a little bit too quick for him in the open, but he took to it and he was brilliant.”

It hadn’t been the easiest watch for the Bulls horseman, but Connors was rapt with the result.

“It was a great race and a good finish, he looked flat a long way out but he kept giving,” he said. “It gets harder as you step up, so hopefully he can keep going.

“He’s definitely going to be Ashley’s favourite horse.”

Out of a High Chaparral mare Kyrenia, Our Daymo was bred by Anne Corcoran, and is raced by Connors and his father Mark. In 12 appearances, he has won on four occasions and earned over $76,000 in stakes.

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