Brilliant Walker pilots Superluminal to victory

SIX-time former champion jockey Omar Walker yesterday rode a tactically brilliant race aboard SUPERLUMINAL to land the King’s Plate, taking speedy filly NUCLEAR FLIGHT out of her game down the backstretch before powering home by two lengths to complete a hat-trick of wins with the seven-year-old.

Leaving nothing to chance in the seven-and-a-half furlong open allowance event following NUCLEAR FLIGHT’s gate-to-wire victory at six and a half two weeks prior, Walker broke SUPERLUMINAL sharply from stall six in the 10-horse field, tackling the filly from the word go.

Walker made a decisive move to claim the rail from five furlongs out then injected a burst of speed at the half-mile marker to inch ahead of NUCLEAR FLIGHT as the pair thundered towards the home turn.

The battling pair entered the straight almost heads on, but SUPERLUMINAL, the proven stayer, quickened along the rail in a six-furlong split of 1:10.4, moving away from NUCLEAR FLIGHT, who failed to take advantage of her five-pound advantage, stamina limitations exposed, eventually losing second-place to HOUDINI’S MAGIC closing from off the pace.

Walker, who has now won four races aboard the Ian Parsard-trained runner in his last seven starts, afterwards said that he knew the 2015 St Leger winner “inside-out”.

“I know this horse inside-out, so I just broke him, stayed in the pace and saved him for the stretch run,” he said.

SUPERLUMINAL’s King’s Plate victory, completed in 1:31.1, has propelled him back to grade one, where he last competed at the back end of last season, finishing second and third in the Prime Minister’s and Governor General’s stakes, respectively.

Trainer Anthony Nunes was the only multiple winner on the 10-race card, completing a double with money-back favourite SUPREME SOUL on a 2000 Guineas warm-up stroll in the opening event at nine furlongs and 25 yards and 5-2 chance HOT ICE in the third at the same distance.

Racing continues at Caymanas Park on Saturday.