Smart Nictock too good with game-face on

Wednesday 26 July 2017, 3:51pm

Smart country galloper Nictock has shown again he can turn it on when needed after notching his first metropolitan win to extend his impressive record.

Trainer Cameron Crockett now has an enviable task to decide where to take the three-year-old gelding for his seventh start, after he beat a depleted field at Canterbury for his fifth win.

The only blot on his near-flawless record comes from a third place on a soggy track at Randwick last month.

Nictock's rating of 66 is expected to rise further after he proved the best of the six runners in the Benchmark 72 on Wednesday.

"His benchmark is probably too high for these midweek races," Crockett said.

"I'm not sure his strength is right there for a Saturday just yet. We might need to give him a break."

While Nictock's record is impressive, his Mudgee trainer knows too well appearances aren't everything.

"If you were down with him in the stalls, you'd think he was flat as a tack," Crockett said.

"He doesn't move, just wanders around the back like a pony.

"As soon as the saddle goes on, he brightens up. As soon as the jockey goes on, he changes.

The jockey on Wednesday, Hugh Bowman, doesn't doubt the horse has a good future.

"This horse has always raced well and he's starting to bring some of his ammunition down to Sydney," Bowman said.

"When he does, he invariably races very well."

Crockett expects Nictock's first race as a four-year-old will come in the summer, pending a discussion with the horse's owners.

– AAP

Latest News

Prime Thoroughbreds - We have a Host of Leaders in our Team

Tuesday, 29 June 2021

Prime Thor­ough­bred’s cur­rent rac­ing team is putt­ing to­gether quite a re­cord. We have 22 hors­es that have raced in our team at pre­sent. Six­teen of th­ese are win­n­ers in­clud­ing the Stakes win­n­ing trio Ru­bisa­ki, Fituese and Xtreme­time with Miss Di­vine Em and Miss In Charge run­n­ing 4th in Stakes races. This sees a stakes win­n­er to win­n­er ra­tio of 18.75% with a stake’s per­formed to win­n­er ra­tio of 31.25%. Th­ese are ex­cep­tio­n­al fig­ures.   More »

Freedmans land maiden Group One win

Saturday, 27 February 2021

Un­der-rat­ed fil­ly For­bid­den Love has emerged as an au­tumn car­ni­val smokey with a bril­liant per­for­mance to win the Sur­round Stakes at Rand­wick.  More »

Capriccio completes Damian Lane treble

Saturday, 27 February 2021

In a big day for coun­try-trained hors­es, War­r­nam­bool fil­ly Capric­cio has tak­en out the In­glis Dash for Daniel Bow­man.  More »

More news headlines »