His time at Dubbo may be coming to an end, but Peter Nestor is making sure he’ll go out a winner.
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The well-known trainer has been enjoying a fine run of form recently and that continued on Thursday when hugely exciting gelding Risk And Reward won at Scone.
With just two starts under his belt and five weeks off due to a number of reasons, the three-year-old achieved the not-too-common act of winning a maiden and then a class one in back-to-back events.
With Anthony Cavallo in the saddle, Risk And Reward controlled the Horsepower Class 1 Handicap (1100m) and scored a strong half-length victory.
Risk And Reward also carried more weight than he did during his maiden win at Parkes and Nestor confessed “a very small percentage” of horses are able to achieve the maiden-class one double.
“He’s a big, raw horse and he was nice and fresh today,” Nestor told Sky Thoroughbred Central.
“The 1,100 (metres) worried me a little bit but I’ll most likely take him to Dubbo now and race him through the grades. There’s a 1,200 (metre) class two there on showcase day so he’ll go there and that will suit him.”
While he looks set to be in action at Dubbo Turf Club on March 25, unfortunately for Nestor it won’t be in the day’s main event.
Risk And Reward was primed for a crack at the $150,000 Country Championships Qualifier (1400m) but a lack of runs has made that near-impossible.
The gelding was set to race in the final event at Mudgee on February 25 but the downpour of rain that day saw the race abandoned.
“I was unlucky. I had him in time for the Country Championships and I reckon he would make an ideal Country Championships horse,” he said.
After jumping out from barrier 12, Cavallo got up and across well to move into the lead.
From there he controlled proceedings, leading Jazzy Belle ($101) into the bend while Kanga’s Eye ($5.50) began to loom.
Kanga’s Eye surged but Cavallo and Risk And Reward kicked clear at the top of the straight and while the gelding tired late on, still made it home comfortably.
Nestor will be hoping for a few more wins before he departs Dubbo in roughly a month.
Risk And Reward is one of a number of talented horses which rival trainers will no doubt be enquiring about with nephew Kody, who started training only late last year, already linked with the three-year-old.