Jay Ford has enthused about the win of New Tipperary at Rosehill even though he knows he is unlikely to ride him again.
Ford picked up the ride on the $3 favourite in Saturday's November Topaz Hcp (1900m) when Brenton Avdulla injured his knee in a barrier mishap earlier in the day.
Avdulla, who is at the top of the metropolitan and state premierships, limped away from Rosehill on his way to get precautionary scans on his knee and appeared to have sustained some ligament damage.
His mount Cottage took fright in the barrier before the second race and as she was lashing out, she kicked Avdulla in the knee.
Ford proved an able replacement on the Joe Pride-trained gelding, getting him home with a head to spare over Falkenberg ($4.20), a margin Ford said could have been bigger.
"He is lovely horse. He doesn't really know what it's all about but the ability is certainly there," Ford said.
"Even halfway through the race we lobbed into a really good spot. Halfway through the race he's dropping the bridle and you've just got to keep him interested.
"He only won narrowly but I just felt with the second horse I held that head margin for the last furlong (200m).
"I felt like if that horse had spurred on more my bloke's definitely had more in the tank.
"The way he relaxes he'll give himself every chance to run a mile and a half. He's obviously a promising horse on the way up and in the next six to 12 months it wouldn't surprise me if you see him in a stakes race.
"But he's Brenton's ride."
Pride was in Perth to oversee the preparations of Terravista for next week's Winterbottom Stakes with his racing manager Hayley Devlin confirming the stable's high opinion of New Tipperary.
"He battled all the way right down to the end," she said.
"We had a jockey change which isn't always ideal on the day but he did a super job and I think we've got a nice horse.
"He's still learning his craft. I think we've got a really nice horse.
"I think he'll be a horse that we'll turn away and bring back in the autumn. He's got a big heart."
It was the third successive win for New Tipperary, taking his record to six from nine starts.
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