Enigmatic galloper Reign It In (NZ) (Scared Falls) returned to winning form after a frustrating twelve-month period for both the horse and his trainer Roydon Bergerson when he took out the Levin Truck Services-sponsored Open 1200m at Otaki on Saturday.
The five-year-old son of Sacred Falls had won the corresponding event at the meeting in 2023 but since then his form had tapered off badly as Bergerson tried to coax him out of the slump.
A promising first-up sixth at Woodville back in May had Bergerson encouraged his charge was on the way back to his best however he managed to beat just a combined two runners’ home in his next two starts.
Bergerson wasn’t sure what to expect on Saturday but breathed a huge sigh of relief as Reign It In sat three wide outside the pacemakers Old Town Road (NZ) (El Roca) and Tavis Court (NZ) (Tavistock) before angling to the outside fence for apprentice Jim Chung, who had been aboard in last year’s victory.
In a desperate finish Reign It In stuck his nose in front at the right time to defeat a brave Prioress (NZ) (Proisir) with Tavis Court battling well for third.
Bergerson was shaking his head afterwards as he discussed the temperamental nature of the horse.
“I wouldn’t like to play cards with the bugger,” Bergerson said.
“He has always had ability and he got the job done today as he deserved it.
“He just needed to get on a heavy track, and I did say to Jim just ride him the same way you did last year.
“I had said to my kids he should be winning open handicaps every second week when the tracks get heavy and thank god he has today.”
Chung was beaming as he expressed his thanks to Bergerson for giving him the ride on the horse.
“I am so happy to ride a winner for Roydon,” he said.
“Today I tried to do the same thing as I did last year. The track is really good (for the horses) as it’s heavy and I just had to get him rolling quite early and he did it.”
Owned by the Reign It In Racing syndicate, which includes a number of Bergerson’s family, Reign It In has now won five of his 31 starts and over $129,000 in prizemoney.
The win was also the first leg of a treble on the day for Chung who was also successful aboard Farravallo (NZ) (Belardo) and Make Time (NZ) (Makfi) later on the programme.
