3 minute read

Trainer and jockey quotes following the Ladbrokes 55 Second Challenge Final won by Unflinching at Moonee Valley on Friday.

Race Result:

1st: Unflinching (Anthony & Sam Freedman/Celine Gaudray) - $3.40
2nd: Foxicon (Peter Moody/Carleen Hefel) - $2.25 fav
3rd: Home Rule (Maddie Raymond/Declan Bates) - $9

Winning Time: 55.23 Last 600m: N/A

Margins: 1-1/2L x Nose

Unflinching barrels down the straight for his third win on the trot @FreedmanRacing pic.twitter.com/XMulPH61ay

— Racing.com (@Racing) March 24, 2023

Winning Trainer: Anthony & Sam Freedman (rep by Brad Taylor)

"We can't quite get the (winning) time. We've tried over the last couple of years.

"This horse was set for this race right the way through this campaign so it is good to get the job done."

Loves The Valley: "Yes, just loves it. It suits horses like him. He can bounce off that corner and kick away and those sorts of horses are hard to run down."

Tactics to break the clock or not: "It was just about getting a controlled lead. Obviously Mutinous is really fast and it was just trying to get that lead because we'd obviously drawn (barrier) one and he can be slow into stride. You've seen that again.

"Celine was on the job and up underneath him and got a nice soft lead in the middle stages.

"When the horse outside her dropped off, he was always going to be hard to catch."

What now with fewer Valley meetings: "He's run second to a pretty good horse of Mick Price's at Sandown so there's no reason why a big track can't suit. We're looking forward to Caulfield coming back and then here in the new season.

"We'll have a look. There's plenty of races around. There might be something in Adelaide or up in Sydney over the next few months to have a look at if there's nothing in Victoria."

Winning Jockey: Celine Gaudray

On Michael Kent Jnr referring to her as a ''mini Jamie Kah" earlier: "I'd hope to be as good as Jamie Kah one day but everything went really well for that horse.

"Barrier one, it can step a bit slow which it did today but this horse really quickened when I asked it to and she really fought hard to win today.

"I thought I'd get going from the corner. She doesn't have the quickest turn-of-foot but once you get rolling she can really sustain that run."