Nangar Kash has unfinished business with Ipswich Gold Cup

By Isaac Murphy

Expectations were high when trainer Wade Liddell brought Wentworth Park star Nangar Kash north for a crack at the Ipswich Cup.

His chances looked even better when he took lengths off eventual winner Wise Misty in the prelude, but the trainer and dog were dealt a cruel blow when he pulled up lame with a broken hock.

After plenty of blood, sweat and tears, the chaser is back and better than ever, and punters will get their first look at him in Saturday night’s prelude.

As excited as the trainer is to have to dog back on deck, he knows the stakes are high and is praying for better luck than last year.

“There’s plenty of excitement going into Saturday night having him back in Queensland and getting ready for a crack at the Ipswich Cup, but there’s plenty of apprehension as well; it was this race last year he ran really well behind Wise Misty only to pull up with a busted hock,” Liddell said.

“The rehabilitation ended up being around eight months, we got him back into work up here and he started trialling well, so we sent him back down to his original trainer Mick Hardman to get him ready for the $100,000 Masters Meteor on Million Dollar Chase night.

“His lead up runs were super, he was winning over the short course to start with and then won his heat of the Meteor by almost 18 lengths.

“He went around second favourite in the final but was drawn outside Sunburnt Highway who was just too good for him on the night, but he comes back to Queensland in great order.”

In roundabout fashion, Liddell believes the injury may have helped the dog long term, according to his times anyway.

“We were very diligent when it came to his recovery and were able to work on a few other little niggles as well and he’s actually come back about three lengths quicker than a year ago from what he’s put on the clock at Wentworth Park,” he said.

“He’s not going to reach the 29.56 heights he did as a two-year-old but it’s pretty remarkable at four-and-a-half to come back from a hock a faster dog.

“It’s probably lengthened his career in the long run, we hope he can run well in the Ipswich Cup and push on to the Summer Carnival before we think about putting him to stud.”

It would be hard to find a better stud prospect than the 22-time winner, who comes from great stock himself.

“He’s from a pretty incredible litter, there aren’t too many Brett Lee lines going around anymore and coupled with All Too Fancy they produced a litter of nine who’ve combined for over $450,000 in prize money and every one of them could run,” Liddell said.

“He’s won 14 races at Wentworth Park, we’ve already had five or six enquiries about him which is excellent, but we want to give him the chance to add to his resume in Queensland before he starts that chapter.

“We don’t have an end date on his career, if he wants to keep racing and is showing he’s up to the grade we might even give him a light program and have one more crack at the Masters Meteor next year, but one thing at a time - we’ll worry about Saturday night first.”

Nangar Kash draws box six in a field featuring Infrared Star, Molly Anne, It’s A Rush, Townson Beach and It Ain’t Billy Saturday night.

All have their own claims, but Liddell is more worried about getting around in one piece and brushing off the cobwebs for the impending heats.

“The main goal for Saturday night is to get him re-accustomed to the track and get around healthy while having a good hit out,” he said.

“I’d like to see him go forward from box six; It’s A Rush should go quick from box four and with the vacant in the five he could give us a nice cart into the race and stay out of trouble.

“He’s always better his second or third run back from a little break, so we’re not expecting a huge result this Saturday but it’s a crucial lead into Thursday’s heats and then hopefully a final the week after.”

Liddell made sure to thank all those who’ve made the comeback possible, having the dog flying like he is has him buzzing.

“I’ve got to give a big shout out to Mick Hardman who’s trained the dog most of his career, he’s done a great job with him down there over the last few months, it would have been a tough decision to send him back after last year but he’s shown plenty of confidence in myself,” he said.

“On a personal level I’m just ecstatic to get another chance with him, after the hock last year we thought that might be it for him but to have him back and better than ever, I’m hoping for a bit of redemption.

“The way he’s been running and feeling is just outstanding, he might have a few more grey whiskers but everything else he’s doing really well.”