3 minute read
In what was a Lindsay Park dominated race from the start, the well-bred Hard Landing held the front down near the outside fence and did enough to beat the stablemate in the 2019 Maribyrnong Plate at Flemington on Thursday.
By All Too Hard out of Snitzerland, he was the first winner for the stable in this race since 2006.
Hard Landing and Baaqyah battle it out to, with Hard Landing coming out on top.@lindsayparkrace scores the quinella in the second race at @FlemingtonVRC. pic.twitter.com/p1ol0YdbKO
— Racing.com (@Racing) November 7, 2019
"Yeah he's bred better than me, I'm out of a station mare by a brumby stallion... I failed the vet and was a runty foal."
— Racing.com (@Racing) November 7, 2019
Luke Nolen compares his pedigree to Hard Landing's. pic.twitter.com/LbyuT0Q58n
"It's a very nice position to be in when the stable mate is threatening the favourite!"@lindsayparkrace has a very handy stable of two-year-olds. pic.twitter.com/nX6C1W0r5a
— Racing.com (@Racing) November 7, 2019
Winning Trainer: David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig (David speaking)
"They've got the right pedigrees to go right on with it. Both have been working and trialling well. It was good to see them going straight to the front and dominating. It was terrific.
Being by All Too Hard: "He is (great). Got a great physique. A bit of a plain head so we got him a bit cheaper because of his head. He's growing into his head, like a few of us, I honestly think he's going to be a Blue Diamond or Golden Slipper contender. I got a bit of a surprise that he led for so long. That made him a but vulnerable today.
"In some of his work he works better sitting behind. He didn't get cover for a stride. I thought he'd get the sit but the filly (Baaqyah) had a good crack at him. But they were both really good. Really happy with them.
On bringing Diamond/Slipper contenders out 'early': "Group status and they were ready to run so we gave them a run. Nadeem did it and if they're good they can run whenever. I'm really happy with him. Our stable finds that if they're (two-year-olds) up to winning in the Spring then they'll be up to winning in the autumn. He'll run in a Blue Diamond Prelude and probably go into it on his third tun. The filly will probably run in one of the Preludes or Previews as well. Being by I Am Invincible, she looks like a readymade two-year-old."
Winning Jockey: Luke Nolen
On his association with Hard Landing pre-race: "I've been on him a number of times at home. He has always shown nice ability."
Thoughts on the run: "Today he did all of the bullocking work. When the chips were down he was a bit lost. These conditions though down the middle of the track, you forgive a horse for being a little bit unsure. He had a really good grounding for this, he was convincing enough on the line and he is only going to improve from the performance."
Moving deeper into his two-year-old season: "I'm not sure how deep he gets into this preparation. He is bred better than me so being a colt they (connections) are going to aspire to the highest aspirations with him. He has shown us a really good indication he is going to reach that mark."
"I'm out of a station mare by a brumby stallion so he (Hard Landing) is a lot better bred than me."
"He has got good ability. Whilst being inexperienced down the straight his first time, I thought he did a very good job."
"He lost his action a little bit underneath me when the track opened up as we got the 300m behind us. He just had a look around and he lost his action a bit as a result but he showed good courage to fight them all off."
Crediting connections: "Again, I'm the lucky benefactor of a really well oiled Lindsay Park machine."
