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Gibbons Taking Open Mind Into Magic Kar Ride

By Ray Hickson

Don’t be surprised if we see more bursts of initiative from jockey Dylan Gibbons in the future following his heroics of last weekend.

The popular hoop was the talk of NSW racing with his daring midrace move on Half Yours at Rosehill and he faces the prospect of potentially needing to produce another magic trick when he partners Miss Kim Kar in the Drinkwise Mile (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday.

Dylan Gibbons wins on Miss Kim Kar (Pic: Bradley Photos).

Gibbons said he did plenty of thinking about racing tactics and initiative while recovering from his shoulder injury and if the situation requires it he’d rather have a go than come back to the owners wishing he’d tried something.

“It’s something I want to try and do a bit more, it’s our job to go out there and get the job done,’’ Gibbons said.

“When the opportunity presents I’d rather not die wondering.

“If there’s a quick tempo there’s nothing you can do about it but with those slow tempos it means nobody’s done any work.

“If a horse is first-up or they have a grand final ahead you’re probably not in a position to take that risk. But when you’re there to win and have free rein I’d rather fall on my sword and do something that will help win than sit back and tell connections the tempo was too slow.”

The subject came up when discussing how he’ll handle Miss Kim Kar, who was a brilliant last to first winner two weeks ago at Randwick, in a race where she was $3.20 with TAB on Thursday and that lacks any natural speed on paper.

It’ll be the Bjorn Baker-trained mare’s first attempt at the Randwick mile, she has won up to 1550m, and Gibbons said she’s the ideal sort of horse to take plenty of plans into a race with.

“The best thing about her is she’s pretty versatile,’’ he said.

“In all her early form she’d sit on the speed and win. She has a lot of upside and I wouldn’t be surprised if I get an open book from that gate.

“The other day it just worked with the track pattern and where we got in the run and what we did.

“Small fields can be a bit trickier than big fields sometimes. I’ll just trust her and ride her where she’s happy, she can win from back or from in front.

“That’s the best asset, you don’t really have to make a plan with her.”

As confident as Gibbons is in Miss Kim Kar’s versatility, he concedes she will need to improve again as she’ll rise 3kg but is happy to sugges the mile won’t be a problem.

“We’ll see how good she is because she has to back up that good performance, it was a testing track and she ran her heart out,’’ he said.

“She goes up in weight, goes up to a Randwick mile. We’ll get a lot of answers but on what she did the other day I couldn’t see a mile being an issue.”

Gibbons partners Brudenell for his former boss Kris Lees in the Listed $200,000 Vinery Stud Bob Charley AO Stakes (1100m) having been Listed placed twice since he last partnered the gelding.

Brudenell was just touched out in the Takeover Target at Gosford then boxed on for third in the Luskin Star at Scone three weeks ago.

“Kris ran him on a quick back up over 1300m in a fast run race and typical Brudenell he ran a super honest race,’’ Gibbons said.


Miss Kim Kar wins at Randwick on May 24

“He’s probably more suited here back to 1100m and you know he’s going to give you 110 per cent every time.”

Dylan Gibbons on El Paso (race 5): “I rode him upside down at Hawkesbury, he jumped too well and he ended up in front and it didn’t suit him. We’ll go back to what we did at Newcastle.”

On Royal Supremacy (race 7): “I thought it was a huge run in the Scone Cup. He just had no luck but I reckon that run will tighten him up well, he’d only had the one trial. He got back the other day and should have really run on strongly, just didn’t see a lot of clear air.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Randwick meeting

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