Smart Nictock too good with game-face on

Nictock has shown again he can turn it on when needed after notching his first metropolitan win.

Smart country galloper Nictock has shown again he can turn it on when needed after notching his first metropolitan win to extend his impressive record.

Trainer Cameron Crockett now has an enviable task to decide where to take the three-year-old gelding for his seventh start, after he beat a depleted field at Canterbury for his fifth win.

The only blot on his near-flawless record comes from a third place on a soggy track at Randwick last month.

Nictock’s rating of 66 is expected to rise further after he proved the best of the six runners in the Benchmark 72 on Wednesday.

“His benchmark is probably too high for these midweek races,” Crockett said.

“I’m not sure his strength is right there for a Saturday just yet. We might need to give him a break.”

While Nictock’s record is impressive, his Mudgee trainer knows too well appearances aren’t everything.

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“If you were down with him in the stalls, you’d think he was flat as a tack,” Crockett said.

“He doesn’t move, just wanders around the back like a pony.

“As soon as the saddle goes on, he brightens up. As soon as the jockey goes on, he changes.

The jockey on Wednesday, Hugh Bowman, doesn’t doubt the horse has a good future.

“This horse has always raced well and he’s starting to bring some of his ammunition down to Sydney,” Bowman said.

“When he does, he invariably races very well.”

Crockett expects Nictock’s first race as a four-year-old will come in the summer, pending a discussion with the horse’s owners.