James McDonald’s endorsement has trainer Angela Davies dreaming of big things with Our Kobison

A ringing endorsement from one of the world’s best riders has encouraged trainer Angela Davies to raise the bar with smart galloper Our Kobison at Royal Randwick this Saturday.

Mitch Cohen

2 min read

January 5, 2024 - 7:00AM

Trainer Angela Davies with Our Kobison after a Warwick Farm victory last year. Picture: Bradley Photos

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A ringing endorsement from one of the world’s best riders has encouraged trainer Angela Davies to raise the bar with smart galloper Our Kobison as he prepares to return at Royal Randwick this Saturday.

Our Kobison has been off the scene since early August where he made it three wins from five starts with a strong Warwick Farm win under the urging of Australia’s leading rider James McDonald.

“J-Mac really liked him and thought he could be a bit special so it will be interesting to test him out a little bit this prep and see where we are at,” Davies said.

“He is going great. He looks terrific and is in good order. It will be interesting to see how far he will go this time around.”

It's a @mcacajamez race to race double!

Our Kobison draws away for a top win for Angela Davies to round out the day at Warwick Farm. pic.twitter.com/UfxYRU30vI
â€” SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) August 9, 2023

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McDonald won’t be on Our Kobison when he returns from a spell with a trial win under his belt at Wyong last month.

Davies accepted with Our Kobison for both an 1000m and 1100m event on Saturday’s program but decided to head towards the shorter of those two assignments.

Tommy Berry has been booked to ride in the Toyota Forklifts Benchmark 78 Handicap (1000m) where Our Kobison is an equal $3.80 favourite.

Our Kobison’s three wins to date have come over the same trip or less however Davies is keen to test the gelding over more ground this preparation.

Our Kobison wins at Warwick Farm last year. Picture: Bradley Photos

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“It is always an interesting question if he could get to 1400m. He is very fast over 1000m,” Davies said.

“Do a lot of those horses get over 1400m? Quite often when you lengthen their work up, you take their sprint away from them and all of the sudden you are left with a horse with no sprint, so it is a fine line to try it.

“We will certainly be trying to get him up over 1200m and that will be the telling tale. If he is getting through the line over 1200m, maybe he can take the next step.”

With only five starts to his name, Davies admits Our Kobison is still learning his craft.

“He can be a bit difficult to ride so we really don’t test him out with galloping with other horses so you are always trying to slow him down a little bit. He tends to overdo it,” she said.

Our Kobison was the $2.20 favourite for the Midway Benchmark 72 Handicap (1100m) with Nash Rawiller in the saddle before being scratched.

Originally published as James McDonald’s endorsement has trainer Angela Davies dreaming of big things with Our Kobison