Black and Bent, in the hands of Steven Pateman, wins the 2010 Australian Hurdle.
AUSTRALIA’S best jumper, Black And Bent, embarks on an historic journey when he runs in the $200,000 Grand National Hurdle (4000 metres) at Betfair Park, Sandown, on Sunday.
The Grand National Hurdle will be followed by the $200,000 Grand National Steeplechase (4500 metres) at Sandown on 28 August.
With two outstanding wins over the jumps since resuming and equally impressive flat form, Black And Bent will start a short priced favourite in the 130th running of the hurdles race.
That, however, will only be the start as syndicate manager Mike Symons, who is also chairman of the Melbourne Racing Club, is hoping to qualify Black And Bent for the Melbourne Cup on November 1. The long-term aim is to run the champion jumper in the $1.7 million Nakayama Daishogai on Christmas Eve.
In 1884, Malua won the Melbourne Cup and four years later took out the Grand National Hurdle. Overseas it is not unusual for jumpers to contest major flat races and Vintage Crop was a successful jumper before winning the 1993 Melbourne Cup.
Black And Bent won on the flat at Flemington before resuming jumping and winning at Morphettville in Adelaide on 23 July, carrying 73.5kg, a metric weight-carrying record. He completed his preparation by outclassing the field in the $100,000 Kevin Lafferty Hurdle (3600 metres) at Warrnambool on 31 July.
“We are the luckiest guys on the planet to be involved in a horse like this,” Symons said.
Talking of a tilt at the Melbourne Cup Symons said if “Black and Bent brings his ‘A’ game, he could certainly finish in the first 10”.
Stephen Patemen, the regular rider of Black And Bent, describes his ride as such: “He really is something special. I am privileged to be part of him”.
Black And Bent is a brother to Some Are Bent, who won eight successive jumps races between July 2006 and July 2007, including the Grand National Hurdle in that year.
