By Adam Pengilly
Ask Jay Ford if he thought Esteban had ability – any shred of natural ability – and you realise why he is as surprised as any to be back on the spruik horse for the summer.
"To be honest, no," Ford laughs. "You even look at his first four or five starts, his form doesn't read that flash."
Yet look at his past four or five starts and it reads anything but that.
Four starts, four wins and an aggregate winning margin of almost 26 lengths. Two of those have been in Saturday metropolitan company, albeit in out-of-carnival races during the drag of winter.
Improver: Esteban being ridden by Rory Hutchings.Credit: Bradleyphotos.com.au
But the same horse Ford struggled to finish within cooee of the winner on during a nondescript Nowra maiden in April? Not even the jockey who will be reunited with him for his campaign starter at Rosehill on Saturday can believe that.
"He didn't too much that day," Ford said. "I do remember he was a little bit gun shy of being back in the field and I think [trainer John Sargent's foreman] Gareth [McRae] was there that day and I just said, 'You want to step him up in trip'.
"He was in a 1200 to 1400 [metre race] and I knew he needed to be ridden more positively, but not thinking he would eventually progress on to be a multiple Saturday metro winner now.
"Once he got over a longer trip and they rode him more positively and he started leading – or outside the lead – he started to run well.
"I think he was a perfect example of what confidence can do for a horse. He just snowballed and within the space of three or four runs he had won his maiden at Newcastle and two Saturday races in town."
The swings and roundabouts of the racing game meant Ford would have been forgiven for thinking he might never jump back on Esteban in a maiden race again, let alone as perhaps a meeting drawcard on Christmas Eve.
But as Sargent and owners Segenhoe Stud inch their way towards some big staying targets in the new year – notably where Esteban is likely to carry feather weights ruling out his regular rider Rory Hutchings – Ford is back in the saddle.
He is cautious rather than confident about what Esteban will do over 1200 metres in a Benchmark 85 event to close the day, especially given the 4-year-old's preparation will be a long one.
"He's a strong on-paced horse who likes to bowl along," Ford said. "He gets them off the bridle and sustains that gallop right the way through. You're probably not going to see that on Saturday because it's only 1200 [metres], but he does it at both ends.
"You need to kick off somewhere and with his class you never know, he might just do something.
"I might be able to sit on him again some time in the near future. He definitely looks like a promising stayer and we'll see how he gets on."
Esteban was a $13 chance with Ladbrokes on Thursday for his Rosehill return on the back of two trials in a market headed up by David Pfieffer's Ziggy Willie, which is angling for three straight wins.