LEADING local jumps jockey Steve Pateman was back to his best at Warrnambool last Sunday, riding a double and narrowing the margin to two as he chases Johnny Allen at the head of the jumps’ jockey premiership.

With his parents on hand, having travelled from Margaret River in Western Australia, Pateman won the maiden hurdle on I’ll’ava’alf for Patrick Ryan Jnr, before taking out the feature, the A$100,000 Thackeray Steeplechase over 3,450 metres three races later aboard Sea King.

“My parents came to Warrnambool for this meeting last year and I rode three of the three jumps races,” said Pateman. “They’re my good luck charms. I wish they could be here on more occasions. Dad’s a cray (crayfish) fisherman. The season is over so they can make the trip at this time of the year.”

Sea King had been in trainer Paddy Payne’s yard only briefly prior to Sunday’s win, having been sent from New Zealand by master jumps trainer Kevin Myers. Myers and Payne did the same last season with Sea King, winning the Mosstropper Steeple, before running second in the Crisp and fourth in the Grand National Steeple.

“I’ve only had him for the last 10 days or so, so all credit goes to Kevin Myers,” said Payne who highlighted set-weights jumps racing as the target.

“He will be weighted out of the Grand National Steeplechase, so he’ll just go to races like the Mosstrooper and the Crisp,” said Payne.

Settled near the tail, Sea King was spotting the leading pair a 30-length head start at the half-way point. Forging into second with Nishiazabu still 12 lengths ahead and just two to jump, Sea King’s superior class and stamina were eroding the margin.

Hitting the lead with 50 metres to run, Sea King won by four lengths from a tiring Nishiazabu, with Arch Fire a further 30 lengths away in third.

“He’s a Grand National Hurdle winner in Australia (2014). He’s got a feature race record in New Zealand and he’s brilliantly prepared by the best trainers, Kevin Myers and Patrick Payne,” said Steven Pateman who is hoping for similarly sodden conditions for the rest of Sea King’s Australian campaign.