A smirk from English jockey Jamie Spencer quickly summed up his thoughts about the chances of Golden Eagle favourite Light Infantry.
Spencer gave Light Infantry a quick spin around Canterbury on Tuesday morning ahead of his hit-and-run assault on Saturday’s $10m race at Rosehill.
Light Infantry, who finished in front of a crack field including Cox Plate winner State Of Rest in France at his last start, has remained on the top line of betting with bookies for several weeks – and for good reason.
“Jamie doesn’t say much, but the little smirk when he came off the track this morning was enough,” trainer Ciaron Maher said.
“He strode up over 1000m, he didn’t need to do a lot, he just needed to stretch his legs, and Jamie was very happy with him. You can see him, he’s nice and bright – he’s a very fit horse.”
Another Englishman, John Allen, rides a lot of work for Maher, and, just like Spencer, makes it subtly known when one has just impressed at trackwork.
Jamie Spencer rides Light Infantry at Canterbury on Tuesday morning.Credit:Janie Barrett
“John doesn’t say much at all, but when he gets off the track, he’ll ask, ‘What’s it by?’ and that’s when you know [they are flying],” Maher said.
Spencer, who has ridden the colt at all five career starts and will fly back to England late on Saturday, said of the morning hit-out on a heavy track: “I was mainly checking to see if he was alive, happy and well, and he seems well and fresh.
“I couldn’t be happier with his physical state heading into the race. And Ciaron is happy. He’s ticking all the boxes on that front.”
Maher and some other owners snapped up a 50 per cent stake in the horse midway through the year. Under the terms of the deal, Light Infantry will race in Sydney on Saturday then return home to England and trainer David Simcock with a Royal Ascot cameo in mind, before settling back in Australia under Maher’s care.
One of the most successful trainers in the business, Maher said he had plenty of experience taking horses across the globe, but had never seen a horse adapt as quickly as Light Infantry.
“I’ve travelled a lot of horses [from Europe] to Sydney and Melbourne the last five years, and I would say this horse has travelled better than all of them,” Maher said.
“They can lose somewhere between five and 25kgs, normally up towards the higher end after a long flight like that. But he only lost 10kg, and put half of that back on in a couple of days. I’m pretty happy with where he’s at. He’s been effective on both [dry and wet tracks].
“And Jamie is a world-class rider, he’s got a lot of confidence in the horse and the right form. You just hope a horse like that gets his opportunity when he wants it in the race, that’s the main thing.”
Spencer will be joined in the field by Frankie Dettori, whose visa was only approved late on Monday, paving the way for him to take the ride on Chris Waller’s import Welwal.
Dettori is one of the most popular – and loudest – jockeys in the world, but has had mixed success Down Under. Saturday will be his first ride in Sydney. He steered Inspiral, Europe’s best filly, to a last-start win over Light Infantry.
“Frankie rang me on Saturday telling me he was coming,” Spencer said. “When he rings you, it’s normally a 90-second conversation – 10 seconds about you, the rest about him, then he hangs up.
“He’s happy to travel and is looking forward to it. He’s on a smart horse.”
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