‘He’s rediscovered his mojo’: Schofield gets best from Special Reward
Sprinter Special Reward continued his summer renaissance by winning the Carrington Stakes at Randwick on Saturday in another sign that Glyn Schofield is returning to his best in the saddle.
Special Reward lost his form after being runner-up in The Hunter in 2020 and went a year without running a place. Rider Schofield returned from a long period on the sidelines due to a neck injury late last year, and Special Reward has led him back to stakes race triumphs.
Glyn Schofield (blue, black check cap) rides Special Reward to victory at Randwick.Credit:Getty
Schofield lifted him into the winner’s circle in the Razor Sharp Stakes last month and got the timing right again in the Carrington.
The jockey, who has ridden with success around the world, makes it count when he gets the chance on the right horse. Even though Special Reward was a $9.50 chance, he rode him like the favourite.
“Kris [Lees] has just got him in a really good frame of mind and he wants to get the races and he wants to compete, which is important for these type of older horses,” Schofield said. “He has rediscovered his form and he’s rediscovered his mojo.”
The same could be said for the jockey, who has two stakes wins on Special Reward since his comeback, but is still struggling to get a full book of rides in Sydney. There are few with his hunger and ability.
Schofield summed up the Carrington perfectly, knowing his horse was at his best with a short sharp burst in the straight, so when he followed the favourite Purple Sector, midfield, to the turn, he would have been smiling when the gaps came.
Special Reward eased to the outside coming off the rise, and the acceleration was there to put the race away.
“He got a lovely trail into the race on [Purple Sector’s] back and he was always going to drag me into the race,” Schofield said.
“The tempo wasn’t as fast as I would have liked it to have been, but he didn’t have to carry his big weight off the bridle all the way.
“I put him under a little more pressure a little earlier today and was glad to see him respond and really find the line strongly for me.”
Special Reward had a length to spare on Through The Cracks at the post, with stayer No Compromise making a good return a short half head away in third.
“It looked like he would be in the finish a long way from home and Glyn rides him really well,” trainer Lees said.
“He is a horse you don’t want to be exposed too early. If you expose him at the top of the straight, he could be found wanting in the last 100m.
“Glyn just kept him covered up for as long as he could and exposed him at the right time and got the job done.”
Lees will probably look to give Special Reward a short break before the autumn, when he could be placed to advantage in the group company.
“He is getting up in the weights now with those couple of wins,” he said. “It is just good to see him back in this type of form because he went missing there for about a year.
“He had a few little niggly things, so we gave him a long break heading into this preparation, and he has found his form.”
Tim Clark rode a winning treble for the day, notching a double for Godolphin on two-year-old Plymstock and Lackeen later in the afternoon after winning the opener on Silent Impact for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
It is a long way to the Australian Derby in April, but that could be an end goal for the Maurice three-year-old, who is a winner of three of his four starts. He came from well back to swamp speedy leader Capital Reign on Saturday.
“We thought about getting him ready for the Magic Millions Guineas but it was going to be too much of rush for him,” Bott said.
“This race was a nice starting point but he will get better the further he steps up in trip.
“We will head toward the Hobartville Stakes and the Guineas with the Derby in mind. As you saw there, he was just getting stronger the further they went and I can’t wait to see him back up to a mile.”
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