3 minute read
A quick recap of some of the races on the Flemington undercard.
Chester goes it alone
Chester Warrior was beaten by the barest of margins on Rapid Racing day over 1200m but jockey Blaike Mcdougall took matters into his own hands here, formulating a plan to stick to the inside rail which paid dividends aboard the Hayes' trained gelding.
While the rest of the field came down the middle of the track over 1000m, Chester Warrior ($4.80) kept going to score by two lengths over Who Shot Suzy ($4.40) with a head back to Shaime ($6.50) in third.
"Blaike knows the horse very well, he does like finding a rail so Blaike just said he was going to let him do that. It was well executed, he was very strong in the end," Will Hayes said.
"I had to come up with a little plan myself, got the go ahead from Will (Hayes), I thought coming out of one, he's a quirky horse, he does have the tendency to hang out and hang in so I thought I'll just use the rail," McDougall said.
Bold Soul strong in driving finish
Daniel Stackhouse produced one of the rides of the day aboard the Patrick Payne trained Bold Soul, who was stepping up to 2000m for the first time after a narrow defeat over 1800m at Caulfield on Boxing Day.
Unhappy with the slow early tempo and sitting back in the field, Stackhouse made an early move at the 1000m mark to surge to the front and got everything out of the $3.90 chance, doing enough to beat $41 outsider Crossoverkid by a neck, just ahead of Macy Moon ($21) in third.
"Instead of fighting my bloke, I was probably using more carrots doing that than making up ground doing no work so we got outside the leader very easily without spending any pennies and he found a lot better rhythm," Stackhouse said.
"He's going to be a nice horse as he gets over a bit further too… he's still a young horse, very green and raw, probably needs to learn to switch off a bit more but first time at the 2000 (metres), that tempo was a bit ridiculous to be honest… the more he's going to be racing the better he's going to be," Stackhouse said.
Regal Vow beneficiary of protest
Stewards spent plenty of time deliberating the result of race six as initial winner Rivaport, ridden by apprentice Ryan Houston, was demoted to third after connections of second-placed Kind Gesture fired in a protest, resulting in Regal Vow being promoted to first.
In what would've been Houston's first city winner, the young jockey was deemed to have caused interference to Damian Lane's mount Kind Gesture, shifting out suddenly around the home turn when not clear to do so.
"Apprentice Houston's made a quick shift out, and right, and took my rightful running. It's probably cost me two lengths in that piece of interference… that part of the race is such a key part, everything is quickening and I'm going backwards, everything's had their chance to quicken up and I've had to start again from scratch," Lane said.
Houston, 20, admitted to making a snap decision where he "probably should've read the play" and that he "probably popped out a bit quick" due to his mount getting close to heels.
Senior jockey Craig Newitt also spoke on behalf of Houston, suggesting that at the 400m mark "Damian's navigated his way to the outside whereas Ryan's still pretty much held up… even with the contact between Jack Hill's mount and Ryan's inside the last hundred metre mark, the last fifty he's holding Damian… Damian's had a good three hundred, three hundred and fifty to make up the ground with clear running."
Jack Hill's mount Regal Vow ($8.50), trained by Charlotte Littlefield, was deemed as the winner of the race ahead of Kind Gesture ($5.50) and Rivaport ($14).
Suparazi swoops
Trainer Ben Brisbourne picked an opportune day to record his first win at Flemington with his English mother on track to watch Suparazi take out a benchmark 84 over 1600m under a cool ride from Zac Spain .
Spain settled the $16 chance back in the field and picked his way through the field to go on and score by 3/4 lengths to Typhoon Harmony ($18) with Piaggio ($4.80) just behind in third and Brisbourne was thrilled to see the widely travelled Suparazi notch up his seventh win.
"It's good run, he's been an absolute marvel for the stable… he's a nice, fun horse, he's qualified for the Big Dance this year, we went pretty close in a $200,000 handicap at Canberra. We might just have a think about whether we stretch him out to 2000 (metres) for the Wangaratta Cup in a month's time," Brisbourne said.
Jungle Jim sends punters home happy
The Michael Moroney trained Jungle Jim had been building nicely in three runs this preparation and duly saluted with a tough win in the last, a benchmark 78 over 1200m.
Ridden by apprentice Celine Gaudray, the free-running gelding was well backed to start $2.60 favourite and despite Is It Me ($8.50) getting within a head on the line, the result was never really in doubt with $11 chance Master Montaro in third.
Anthony Feroce was representing the Moroney stable and says Jungle Jim's affinity for the straight was a big factor in the win.
"He loves the straight. That's the sort of horse he is, he just likes to bowl in front and get his own way. Probably a little bit critical (but) I thought Celine went a bit too early… but she won so that's the main thing," Feroce said.
Quote of the day: "That tempo was a bit ridiculous to be honest… the more he's going to be racing the better he's going to be" – Daniel Stackhouse after making a mid-race move aboard Bold Soul to win Race 5.
