Photo: Kenton Wright (Race Images)
Saturday’s Gr.3 Manco Easter Handicap (1600m) at Ellerslie capped a rapid and popular rise to stardom for Waverley visitor Doctor Askar (Derryn).
The time-honoured $150,000 feature was the fifth win in a row for the Derryn gelding, who has now earned $271,145 from a 15-start, six-win career. Doctor Askar is trained by his owner-breeder Joanne Moss, who named him after a Waikato Hospital doctor who she credits with saving her son’s life.
The equine Doctor Askar took nine starts to win his first race, eventually leaving maiden ranks with a narrow victory over 1400m at New Plymouth on December 27. He ran third in his next start at Trentham on January 11, and the four-year-old has never looked back since then.
His next four races produced four wins in succession. He took out a special conditions maiden at Trentham on January 18, followed by Rating 75 successes at Waverley on February 28 and Trentham on March 22. Moss raised the bar with a first black-type assignment in the Listed Flying Handicap (1400m) on March 29, and Doctor Askar rose to the challenge and scored another narrow win.
Saturday’s Easter was by far his toughest test. It was his first time at Group Three level, first time at Ellerslie, first time right-handed and first time racing over 1600m. But Doctor Askar took all of those new challenges in his stride and came out on top again.
“That’s pretty impressive, I wasn’t expecting that,” Moss said. “He’s a homebred horse that’s really done us proud. A lot of people are following him and backing him now, so it’s been great.
“I always wanted to come to Auckland and win the Great Northern Steeplechase (6400m), but that’s not run here at Ellerslie any more. But I’ll take an Easter!”
Moss said the human Dr Askar has been following his namesake’s progress with interest.
“He’s very happy and says it’s funny hearing his name being called out by the commentators,” Moss said. “He’ll be watching again today.”
Another major player in the Doctor Askar story has been jockey Joe Doyle, who has guided the horse to five wins and a placing from six rides.
Gate 14 in a 16-horse field presented another challenge on Saturday, but Doyle drove Doctor Askar forward to sit just behind the front-runner Electron by the time the field reached the turn out of the back straight.
The pressure was on all the way around the track, but Electron and Doctor Askar were both still full of running as they turned for home.
Doctor Askar slowly but surely got the better of Electron down the straight, but she was not the only rival he had to worry about. Talented three-year-old Tardelli launched a big run down the outside of the track and quickly drew up alongside the leading pair.
Doctor Askar saw him coming and lifted again, holding on to win by a neck. Electron was another nose away in third.
“It’s been a fantastic training performance by Jo with this horse,” Doyle said. “I don’t think you’d find a more popular winner in the country today. There’s such a great story behind the horse and they’ve been rewarded again. It’s fantastic.
“I can’t wait until next year with this horse. He still has a touch of greenness and newness, so he’s only going to improve.
“I said before the race that with the long run up to the first turn, we’d be able to roll forward from our wide gate. I was hoping they wouldn’t be going mad in front, but the pace was certainly strong, so fair play to the horse.
“He was probably running on fumes near the end, but it’s a credit to his toughness and resilience that he had his head out at the right time.
“He’s such a fun horse. He’s a great horse for the public to follow, with that story behind him and his fantastic will to win.”
Doctor Askar’s six wins have come by margins of a short neck, half a length, a long head, a length and a quarter, a head and a neck.
