Rocbolt secures breakthrough win on the Gold Coast a year after leg injury

ROCBOLT’S journey back from a leg injury has reached its highest point after the gelding secured his first win in nearly 12 months on Saturday.

Rocbolt (right) looms up alongside Just Keep Giving to win the Class 4 Birkbecks Pink Ribbon Cup (1800m) on Saturday. Picture: Jessica Hawkins, Trackside Photography.

ROCBOLT’S journey back from a leg injury has reached its highest point after the gelding secured his first win in nearly 12 months on Saturday.

The six-year-old gelding won the Class 4 Birkbecks Pink Ribbon Cup (1800m) on the Gold Coast.

The win came almost 12 months after Rocbolt suffered a leg injury on his way to ­victory at Moonee Valley on October 30 last year.

Jacob’s Well-based trainer Bevan Laming said it had been a patience game waiting for Rocbolt’s leg to fully heal and return to the strength it had before the injury.

“It’s been a long road. He won at Moonee Valley and broke down,” Laming said.

“He did the leg injury during the race and it’s taken a while for him to come right.”

It took nine months for Rocbolt to return to racing and an 11th-place finish in his first run back in July was followed by a fifth at the Gold Coast and two eighth placings at Doomben before finally breaking through.

It was “King of the Coast” jockey Dan Griffin who piloted Rocbolt to victory ahead of Just Keep Giving and Favoured Grace.

The victory took Rocbolt’s career tally to five wins from 24 starts.

Laming said he was happy to see Rocbolt win again although the vastly experienced trainer is of the opinion that he still had a lot of improvement left in him.

“He wasn’t impressive. He got tired in the last bit so we will just see what happens,” Laming said. “It’s hard to get them back sometimes.”

Rocbolt (right) looms up alongside Just Keep Giving to win the Class 4 Birkbecks Pink Ribbon Cup (1800m) on Saturday.