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By Ray Hickson

He’s not taking anything for granted but jockey Nick Heywood is quietly confident successive Newhaven Park Southern Districts Country Championships is within Another One’s reach at Wagga on Saturday.

Heywood has been on the horse’s back since before his first race start and few people would know him better.

Another One & Nick Heywood win the 2021 Newhaven Park Southern District Country Championship. (Pic: Kylie Shaw)

While Gary Colvin’s stable star has built a super record of four wins from 13 starts and over $300,000 in prizemoney, including a second in the 2021 Newhaven Park Country Championships Final behind Art Cadeau, Heywood says he’s still on the way up.

“Early days he was one of those horses that was doing the work without showing too much. He was sort of the ugly duckling,’’ Heywood said.

“No-one picked him out to be anything special and he’s just improved with his racing and got better and better each time.

“We know each other well and we know what’s best for each other to finish the race in the best position.”

They’ve combined six times for three wins, two seconds and a third – the other seven starts have been in Sydney and Colvin has always used Sydney riders, aside from in the Country Championships Final.

The evidence of his statement can be seen in the replay of the 2021 Southern Districts Country Championships as Heywood and Another One arrived in the last stride to win the $150,000 feature.

“If we had an easier run last year it would probably tell at the finish and instead of winning by 0.1 he probably wins by a half,’’ he said.

“He did the most work in the race last year, he’s going to meet similar opposition this year and if he can get an easier run I can’t see why he can’t do it again.

“I have a lot of respect for the horse. I’m not someone to talk too highly, I’d rather keep it low key and let the horse do the talking.

“It’s up to me and him on Saturday. I’ll be giving him the best possible ride I can give him and he should be able to do the rest for me.”

Another One has raced five times on his home track and is yet to miss a top three finish, including three wins, and while on paper his first-up run at Rosehill was passable both Colvin and Heywood were satisfied it was enough to show he’s on track.

The gelding ran sixth behind Rule Of Law, who ran 1:08.86 for the 1200m at Rosehill on January 29, and clocked a 33.94 for his last 600m (Punter's Intelligence) so he had the strong gallop he needed.

“It was a Benchmark 88 and he will be going back to a Class 5 country race,’’ Heywood said.

“He wasn’t ready for that type of race the other day but he had to start somewhere and he was only beaten five lengths, which I think was pretty good.

"He’s come on from that run and being second-up at 1400m should suit him quite well.”

While Another One’s most recent win was in the corresponding race last year Heywood said his spring can be forgiven because after the horse didn’t secure a start in The Kosciuszko his trainer experimented with distance limits.

But in the case of Saturday’s race he’s been specifically set for it since he returned from a spell.

Another One's first-up run at Rosehill on January 29

“It’s big prizemoney, you’ve got to take a shot at it,’’ he said.

“It turned out he’s more a 1400m to a mile horse, this time he’s come into be prepared for 1400m second-up.

“He’s got the best form but that’s not all you need to win races these days, it’s about a bit of luck when you need it and to have the horse on the day.

“He ticks all the boxes to be the one to beat but it’s one of those competitive races where five or six can win it if they get the right run.”

With four horses so far locked in for the $500,000 Newhaven Park Country Championships Final (1400m) at Randwick on April 2, Another One is an $11 chance with TAB so he’s expected to add his name to the list come Saturday afternoon.

All the entries, form and replays for Saturday's Country Championships meeting at Wagga