Max Delight and Will Rixon returning to scale at Menangle last Saturday night. Photo by Club Menangle
FRESH from one of the most satisfying wins of his career, top young reinsman Will Rixon heads for Menangle again on Tuesday with some serious chances.
With 39 winners already this season Rixon is on track to crack the 100-win mark for the third season in a row.
Yet his win on Saturday night with the David Aiken-trained Max Delight will certainly rate among his best for the year.
Perfectly-driven by the 24-year-old reinsman, Max Delight pushed Swayzee when they left the mobile before Rixon relented and took a trail behind the two-time New Zealand Cup winner over the 2300m journey.
Rixon then bided his time until they hit the long Menangle straight the final time and timed his run to perfection to nab Swayzee in the shadows of the post.
While the neck winning margin might have been a minor surprise, Rixon later commented that he had all the confidence in the world Max Delight would be competitive.
“You take him out to warm up and he feels like a happy horse,” said Rixon.
“And David Aiken is such a great trainer; he’s a living legend for a reason.”
Even though he knew Swayzee was a star, Rixon said he had so much confidence in Max Delight:
“He tries his heart out and you can never rule him out with the right trip,” he said.
“It [winning] was a funny sort of feeling but I wasn’t completely shocked.”
Beating his good friend Cameron Hart, who drove Swayzee, made the win even more memorable.
“Cam [Hart] is a really good sport and we’re great mates,” he said.
“We are both competitive and like to keep things on the track and we get along well off it.
“He was the first to yell ‘well done’ after we crossed the line.”
It’s no surprise trainers are lining up to book Rixon for their drives at Menangle Tuesday as he will ‘work’ for four different trainers, including his father Peter Rixon.
His best drive looks to be a stable newcomer for his father in five-year-old former New Zealand square-gaiter Ivanka.
A lightly-raced mare with one win from just six starts, Ivanka has had two trials for the stable for a win and a second placing to give her a good look at the Menangle circuit.
Drawn gate six in Race 1, the Rixons will be hoping to open her Sydney account with a win.
