Nick Heywood after finishing second on Testator Silens in the $150,000 South East Country Championships qualifier at Moruya.
Scott Spackman will run Rocket Tiger in Friday’s Southern wildcard Country Championships qualifier at Goulburn.
Harden product Nick Heywood has made a sensational return from a broken leg, guiding the Luke Clarke-trained Testator Silens to a place in the $500,000 Newhaven Park Country Championships final, which will be run and won at Royal Randwick on April 1.
After making a successful return to riding at Dubbo on March 3, Heywood then trekked to Moruya on March 5, and in the $150,000 South East Country Championships qualifier, he finished second on Testator Silens, beaten just half a length by the Nick Olive-trained Kimberley Secrets.
With the top-two placegetters going through to the final, it means Heywood – who famously qualified the Gary Colvin-trained Another One for the 2021 and 2022 Country Championships finals after winning the Southern Districts qualifiers – will get his chance in the 2023 final on the Braidwood galloper, which is the current $6 favourite to win the rich country-only series.
“It was a great effort, and Luke had him well-placed in this race today,” Heywood said after running second.
“He is a horseman Luke Clarke, and I believe every time he says he has him spot on, he has, and the way the track was playing today, you had to be there; it was nearly two lengths better on pace.
“He was probably ridden a little bit out of his comfort zone today, but we had to be there, and I just think in the end, the weight was the difference; we had 59kg, and she had 55kg.”
Heywood was reluctant to draw comparisons between Testator Silens and Another One – with the latter coincidently winning the $150,000 National Sprint in Canberra on Sunday for champion hoop Danny Beasley.
Still, he is keen to be on a fresh Testator Silens when contesting the 2023 Country Championships final next month.
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