Potcheen finally discovers his mojo
After four uninspiring runs, many pundits were led to believe that Potcheen had seen better days and that the seven-year-old gelding was simply fiished.
Potcheen last won on May 23, 2015, and has since been pulverised twice by Seeking My Dream, Perfect Neighbour and his stablemate Uppa Tune.
Then came a drop in class from Grade One to Open Allowance, and Potcheen showed he is on the mend with a fighting win over the five straight course on Wednesday, accelerating like the Potcheen of old, getting the job done in the final yards over Puddy Pooh and longtime leader Royal Assault.
The win by the offspring of Traditional – Bubble Gum Hottie brought visible relief to his trainer Harry Parsard who emphasised that the drop in class served Potcheen well.
“Potcheen has always been a good horse and he was struggling of late, but I think that he has turned around his form at the right time.
“It was an improved run based on his last performance when finishing fifth to Seeking My Dream over 1,500 metres. We are now hoping that he has come back to himself where he can race where he truly belongs,” Parsard told the Complete Racing Guide.
With jockey Jevvanne Erwin riding, Potcheen was held off the pace set by Royal Assault and Smokey Topaz for the first three furlongs of the race.
When all seemed lost in the last half-furlong, Potcheen’s late burst brought him ahead on the line by half-length over Puddy Pooh (Odean Edwards) who was another one-and-a-quarter lengths in front of Royal Assault (Paul Francis) in third and Smokey Topaz (Dane Nelson) in fourth.
The winning time for the three-year-old and upward event was a quick 0:57:2 seconds as the Curragh Jamaica Agency-owned Potcheen registered his 14th career victory from 44 starts with lifetime earnings of just over $10 million.
“ Potcheen ran an excellent race. We had an ordinary break at the start and I just kept him relaxed and took my time getting him into his rhythm. When I asked him to run inside the last two furlongs, he just kicked and caught them on the line,” Erwin said.
