Parramatta Cup 2016: Top jockey confirmed for Hasselhoof rid

Leading New Zealand jockey Matthew Cameron has been cleared to continue an association with Hasselhoof at Rosehill.

Cameron was knocked unconscious in a fall on Sunday and had to pass a concussion test on Tuesday.

He now expects to ride in New Zealand on Friday before heading to Sydney to try to help Hasselhoof restore some of his lost reputation in the Parramatta Cup on Saturday.

In a further autumn boost for the champion rider, Cameron has been confirmed for the Australian Guineas mount on pre-post favourite Xtravagant at Flemington on March 5.

Cameron said he was fortunate to escape serious injury when he parted company with his horse which was leading in a race at Matamata.

“My face broke the fall and I was out for a couple of minutes, but I came to in the ambulance and remembered what I was there for,” Cameron told NZ Racing.

“I’m lucky that nothing is broken and it’s good to come out unscathed.”

Hasselhoof suffered his first defeat in seven starts when beaten out of a place as a short-priced favourite at Randwick when making his Australian debut.

The four-year-old has 55.5kg in Saturday’s Listed race and Cameron expects Australian racegoers to catch the best of a horse rated as one of the most promising in New Zealand.

“He obviously needed that run the other day … he was a bit above himself,” Cameron said.

“By all accounts he is thriving and I think the real Hasselhoof will turn up on the weekend.”

The Parramatta Cup is the lessor of four stakes races at Rosehill, but recent results have made it a solid reference point for better races during the autumn carnival.

Vision And Power came through as the winner of the 2009 edition to claim the Doncaster Mile four starts later.

And the 2014 runner-up Carlton House figured at weight-for-age at his next two starts with placings in the Ranvet Stakes and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Among Hasselhoof’s expected rivals will be Libran, one of Chris Waller’s late imports who finished in front of the kiwi in an eye-catching Australian debut at Randwick.

 

Article from JustHorseRacing.com.au

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