3 minute read
Trainer and jockey quotes after Taunting claims the Ballarat Volkswagen Tonks Plate at Ballarat on Saturday.
Race Result:
1st: Taunting (M Hickmott/T Nugent) - $2.70 fav
2nd: Sacred Palace (L Smith/B Mertens) - $9.50
3rd: Zac De Boss (S Zahra/W Price) - $6
Winning Time: 1:05.61 Last 600m: N/A
Margins: 2-1/2L x 2-1/4L
Taunting does it again! @mhbloodstock @TeoNugent1 pic.twitter.com/rjOUS2cI3n
— Racing.com (@Racing) December 9, 2023
Winning Trainer: Michael Hickmott
Plans on race: "He was told in no uncertain terms. There was a slight discussion about taking a hold. It's not very often I put my foot down, but I did today. It was the old Darwin style, straight to the front. It's fantastic to get another good winner in these colours. We had a great day up at Seymour Park with Darren (Thomas), Pilk (Mark Pilington) and the crew on Thursday. It's fantastic with the support we're getting from these colours with Darren and Mark and Tommy Hepinstall who is a big part of my stable who is in this horse with me. It's fantastic to see him win today. I think he had had enough on the line, but he'd done a very good job."
Plans: "I want to get him back down in the weights. He's a horse that I know exactly where his mark is. Today he needed to run to his best with horses getting away from him down in the weights. I'll try and get him down on the minimum and try and find the right race for him and go from there. I'm under no illusions. He looked like he was going to be an better horse early than he's turned out to be, but I've maintained and looked after his rating and he's won something like $450,000 being a 95 rater. If they all can do that, we'd be happy."
Winning Jockey: Teo Nugent
Found the fence: "The shortest way home is the paint and the paint has been hot today. It's lasted to race nine today. The barrier gods weren't in our favour earlier on today, we drew barrier 11 of 11 this morning, but with the scratchings brought us in a bit closer. He jumped really well again and it didn't take long to cross in front and when I pushed the button on him, he felt really nice."
Handle the delay: "He's a really cool customer. He's so beautiful and relaxed but today he was a little more on the toe with the delay. He did get a bit agitated, but he's a real gentleman. Michael brought him over in good order and lucky his brother Rob trains here on course. The wetter the better for this horse. He really put a space on them. He took a little bit to go through the gears. He felt a little bit lethargic, but once I got to the 200 (metres) he really extended again and put them to bed nice."
