Connections are likely to push on with Detonator Jack (NZ) (Jakkalberry) this campaign following his shock defeat as $1.40 favourite at Sandown on Saturday.
John Allen settled last in the field of six but failed to reel in So Si Bon going under by three-quarters of a length.
“He was mucking around going into the gates and then he came out a bit slow and Johnny was just a couple of pairs back from where he wanted to be last and then got pushed wide on the corner,” Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock’s Darren Dance explained.
“He loomed like he was going to go straight past them and win by 3 or 4 lengths, but Johnny just said to me he thought he might have gone a little too hard too early on him and should have timed his run a little bit better.
“Those small fields can sometimes be tricky.”
Dance also alluded to the 4.5-kilogram weight swing to So Si Bon from their last outing.
Despite the defeat, Dance said he was proud of his gelding who has pulled up well and would likely return to Sandown for a similar race later this month, possibly with blinkers applied.
“He has got a really good turn of foot, you just can’t win them all,” Dance admitted.
“The winner is a really good horse when it’s on, it’s no disgrace getting beaten by So Si Bon. I don’t care if he’s a nine-year-old or four-year-old, he’s been a grand horse I’d love to own myself.
“There is another one of them races in three weeks, so we will probably look at that.”
Bred by Craig Dunphy and his wife Steph, Detonator Jack is a son of the late Jakkalberry and the No Excuse Needed mare Red Delicious (NZ), who is also the dam of the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) and Gr.1 Levin Classic (1600m) winner Madison County (NZ) (Pins).
Detonator Jack, who has won five races, is yet to miss a top-three finish from his eight outings
