3 minute read
Trainer and jockey quotes following the Group 2 McEwen Stakes won by The Inferno at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Race Result:
1st: The Inferno (C Brown/D Lane) - $6.00
2nd: Portland Sky (M Laurie/L Currie) - $2.50F
3rd: September Run (C Waller/C Williams) - $4.00
Winning Time: 59.48 Last 600m: N/A
Margins: 1L x Nose
"The Inferno is burning today."
— Racing.com (@Racing) September 4, 2021
Ex-Singapore galloper, The Inferno, wins the Group 2 McEwen Stakes for Cliff Brown. pic.twitter.com/3oPQwwwqlI
Winning Trainer: Cliff Brown
"He was a big part of the reason we came home. I said to a few close mates, I've got a great mate in Singapore - Denis, I said I think he's the best horse that I've ever had and to come back and do this is great.
"I think he could be an Everest horse. I think after today I wanted to wait and see. The beauty of him is he likes firm, he likes soft. I think he could be that sort of smokey for that race."
Since last start: "I really mucked that first start up, I really did. I had him too big. I had to go away and look at all of my notes and what I'd done and everything like that and there was plenty of improvement, plenty of things I had to change.
"I just hadn't done enough work with him. He does everything so easily. A normal horse it would have been but for him it is never enough. I had to then get him to settle back and in his training learn to chase again and work through the line instead of getting there easily."
Winning Jockey: Damian Lane
"The horse as super. I've done a little bit with Cliff and his horses over the last few weeks. I was fortunate enough to ride his first winner back at Pakenham last week and this bloke was just a little bit fresh and keen first-up at Caulfield. It all just went upside down for us.
"But Cliff gave him a trial between runs. He went super and I was confident he'd run well today. I just wasn't sure how it might play out for him but he really showed his class.
"He's a talented horse and quite often those horses pick things up naturally. That was the same thing here today. He just took to the track, no worries. When I let him down he let down really quickly."
