Young gun driver Josh Aiken described Hectorjayjay’s narrow Perth Inter Dominion as bittersweet.
Aiken, son of trainer David Aiken, said his time to reflect on the near miss was over and it was now important to focus on a string of major races still to come this season with Hectorjayjay and stablemate Lennytheshark.
“I felt like I gave it my best on the night and I know Hector did as well,” he said. “You can look at all the ifs, buts and maybes, but in the end a champion trainer-driver with a great stayer was just a bit too good for us.
“At the bell things looked good, then 200m later, when the leader stopped, I was out three-wide by myself and it was always going to be hard doing it that way.
“On the bend I was still travelling and Mark (Purdon) had been at Smolda since the 500m, but when I said ‘go’, Hector didn’t ping. I put my head in front for a couple of strides, but Smolda had been in those situation before and just kept giving.
“People felt Hector had a tendency to ‘give it up’ when he got tired in the past, but he didn’t do that. If you look at the replay, he’s still closing the gap again on the line. I was so proud of him.”
Aiken said Hectorjayjay and Lennytheshark were headed for a “10-14 days” on the water-walker before returning to training for the upcoming Victorian feature races.
“They both seem well. Hector came through it really well,” Aiken said. “And Lenny was almost 100 per cent right again Friday, but time just beat us. He’ll be right to go again very soon.
“They both thrive at the water-walker so they can some time there while we map out what races they go to.
“There are the Shepparton and Ballarat Cups next month and we’ll be working around those races with the two horses … keeping them apart if possible.
“We’ve got some thinking to do around the Victoria and Hunter Cups. We’d love to run in both, but it’s a busy time with the Miracle Mile leads-up not long after at Menangle.”
It seems likely Hectorjayjay will go to the Ballarat and Victoria Cups ahead of Sydney for a qualifier and the Miracle Mile.
Lennytheshark’s program could start with the Shepparton Cup and go to the Victoria Cup before Sydney.
Adam Hamilton