Luke Currie sought out Damien Oliver and Mark Zahra for advice before winning with Arkansaw Kid first-up
Luke Currie is seeking another win aboard Arkansaw Kid at Caulfield as he puts the advice of two greats into practice with the gelding.
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Chats with a retired great and a dual Melbourne Cup-winning jockey produced a small pillar in what could become a profitable partnership in Saturday’s Group 3 Vale Black Caviar at Caulfield.
Jockey Luke Currie had his first ride on the Lindsay Park-trained sprinter Arkansaw Kid in the Listed Regal Roller Stakes at Caulfield on August 17 after picking the brains of two of the sprinter’s previous riders.
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Former champion jockey Damien Oliver won a stakes race on Arkansaw Kid last spring and the $500,000 Inglis Banner on debut in October 2022 while Mark Zahra had ridden the son of Harry Angel three times.
“I spoke to Ollie about him because he had ridden him as a colt and got a bit of information about him,” Currie said.
“I also had a chat with Zahra about him as well so I got a pretty good understanding of what he was like.”
Currie put the pair’s advice into practice in the Regal Roller Stakes, steering Arkansaw Kid to a first-up win in the four-year-old’s first start as a gelding.
Arkansaw Kid got home by three-quarters of a length first-up.
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Currie said Arkansaw Kid needed to lift to win the Vale Black Caviar at Group 3 level but said the winner of more than $1.2m had the ability to handle the class rise.
“He just did what he had to do first-up,” Currie said.
“He had the right run and did the job but he’ll need to step up again on Saturday.
“He’s up to a Group 3 race but he showed as a two-year-old that he had the ability because he ran well in some top races.”
TAB opened Arkansaw Kid at $4.60 on Wednesday but has eased his quote to $6 in early betting on the $200,000 race.
Godolphin sprinter Kallos has been well supported, firming from $4.20 to $3.50, while the Ciaron Maher-trained Recommendation is the $2.30 favourite.
Originally published as Luke Currie sought out Damien Oliver and Mark Zahra for advice before winning with Arkansaw Kid first-up
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