World renowned Aussie DJ Fisher is at Flemington on Saturday to perform after the last race on Champions Day, but he was also on course earlier to watch the race named in his honour with victory in the Listed VRC Fisher Stakes (1200m) going to blueblood gelding Need Some Luck.
Trained by Peter Snowden and ridden by Melbourne Cup winning jockey Jamie Melham, five year-old Rubick gelding Need Some Luck was having his first run back from a spell and with two recent trials in Sydney was fit and ready to fire.
He made light work of the freezing cold and wet conditions, surging through the gloom to power clear and win by two lengths taking his overall record to six wins and seven placings from 15 starts with prizemoney topping $520,000.
Jamie Melham was full of praise for Need Some Luck, who relished the testing conditions.
“This horse got through that ground fantastic. Most horses today have me stopping pretty quick after the line because the ground's quite testing and tiring out there, but he loves it… I couldn't stop him,” said Melham.
“He jumps out of gates a bit better than Chautauqua, although he has been slow out of the gates previously in his runs, but today he was fantastic.
“He jumped well, got into a beautiful spot behind Nadal where I wanted to be, and I wanted to hold him together as long as I could, but we got to the 400m, and I couldn't hold him any longer.
“He was fantastic. I didn't even need to encourage him; he just found the line himself.”
A homebred for the Throsby family, Need some Luck is a three-quarter brother to world champion sprinter Chautauqua, who won six G1 races among his 13 wins before he infamously chose not to run.
The enigmatic grey gelding refused to jump from the gates and despite the best efforts of some of the best horseman in the country, he stuck doggedly to his policy of no more racing for me!
Need Some Luck is also a half-brother to Group III winner London Lolly and is the third stakes-winner and final foal among nine winners from 12 named foals that have all raced out of Lovely Jubly, a brilliant dual Group I winning juvenile by Lion Hunter.
Need Some Luck is the 15th stakes-winner for Rubick, who was exported to stand at stud in China after starting his stud career at Coolmore before a sojourn with Swettenham Stud in Victoria.
