Mathrick happy with second-hand horses

Wednesday 24 July 2013, 3:59pm

Shawn Mathrick once found it less than desirable that his stable was largely made up of other trainers' rejects.

He is now happy to take on anything.

Mathrick led in his sixth winner from his past 15 starters when Our Nkwazi won at Sandown on Wednesday - and again it was a discard from another stable that showed the benefit of his patience and skill.

"I've only got a small team and they're pretty much all rejects," Mathrick said.

Our Nkwazi is not only a reject, but a four-time loser.

Mathrick is the six-year-old's fifth trainer and it didn't take long for him to realise why he'd been passed so frequently from home-to-home.

"He's a monster," he said.

"Even here today he just refused to go onto the track until I came along and took hold of him.

"That's what he's like, he's got a mind of his own and he can be a real problem."

Mathrick said he had discovered Our Nkwazi had suffered a serious knee injury which probably hadn't helped his cause and he has some other views on how the horse may have been handled by riders in previous campaigns.

But Our Nkwazi has a saving grace that Mathrick says will guarantee him a place in his stable while ever he stays sound.

"He's the fastest horse I've ever seen," he said.

"He's very, very special."

Our Nkwazi regularly - and easily - runs astonishing times on the training track, although Mathrick says he doesn't ask him to produce it too often.

"It's incredible what he can run without being asked, I don't know what he'd do if I wanted him to run along."

The 1000m of the Sportingbet 0-82 Handicap is about as far as Our Nkwazi ($12) will be asked to run, but his short head victory over Hadronica could have been wider had the runner-up not hampered him over the final 200m.

While Our Nkwazi's opportunities might be limited, Mathrick has a knack for keeping his second-hand horses in form.

One of the discards in his stable is Pepin Hoaks who had remained a maiden with his previous two trainers, only to win seven for Mathrick, including a last-start success at Sale on Sunday.

– AAP

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