Yulong Patrol ready for next challenge after Country Mile triumph
Andrew Bobbin will welcome the challenge of Yulong Patrol’s rating going up following his narrow victory in the Country Mile Series Final at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
He described the triumph as the highlight of his two years as head trainer for Grampians Racing.
Celebrations with connections went into the night after the seven-year-old saluted in the last of the 10-race card, with Blaike McDougall aboard.
Bobbin paid just $17,000 for the gelding from an Inglis online digital auction in 2020, Yulong Patrol picking up $138,500 for his triumph on the weekend.
Despite enjoying the win, Bobbin was circumspect about where he would next send his galloper.
In saying that, he believes he will compete well wherever that next start might be.
“To keep it real it was a restricted race, so his rating goes up,” he told HorseBetting.com.au.
“It’ll be a lot trickier to place him now, but he’s very genuine.
“We can put him in races and know he’ll give his best.”
Bobbin said Yulong Patrol did his best work early in Saturday’s mile race worth $250,000.
“I didn’t expect him to jump so well,” he said.
“I expected there to be a lot of speed in the race, and I thought we might have been another couple of pairs back.
“But when he jumped well Blaike held his position.”
Bobbin said Yulong Patrol was in top physical and mental condition heading into his weekend assignment.
His last start was a runner-up finish to TooGoodForToorak for Matt Laurie at Benchmark 64 level at Colac on February 10.
“It was five weeks in between runs, but he’s been up for quite a while,” Bobbin said.