MV SEPT 24 - LONE ROCK SOLID IN CHAMPAGNE STAKES
By Taron Clarke | Sunday, September 26, 2010
Moonee Valley, September 24, 2010.
Track - Good 3. Rail - Out 3m. Penetrometer 4.63.
Champagne Stakes (Group 3) 3YO Fillies SW - 1200m.
Time: 1-11.02. 600m Sectional: 35.70. (Carrying 56kg).
1 Lone Rock; 2 Jesse’s Girl; 3 Military Rose.
Margins: 0.3L x 0.5L.
Robert Smerdon’s filly Lone Rock landed the second leg of a winning double at Moonee Valley for her sire Fastnet Rock by winning the Group 3 Champagne Stakes for the three year old fillies.
Earlier in the evening Fastnet Rock’s daughter Jolie Brise notched up her fourth career victory over 1600 metres in the second event.
Lone Rock went into the Champagne Stakes third-up into her second campaign after two unplaced efforts on rain affected tracks this time in.
Back on top of the ground and ridden by triple Melbourne Cup winning jockey Glen Boss, Lone Rock was sent to the post an outsider at $20.00 with bookmakers on track.
The favourite for the event was the Sydneysider Solar Charged marginally ahead of another interstate galloper Queenslander Military Rose.
The Smerdon galloper was only fairly into stride and couldn’t muster any great amount of pace and jockey Boss elected to let the filly balance up towards the rear of the field.
Favourite Solar Charged raced to the lead and showed out by a length and a half to fairytale filly Chance Bye and a further two lengths astern was Military Rose.
Boss drove the Fastnet Rock filly up along the inside of runners at the rear of the field and the pair managed to hop on to the back of Jesse’s Girl, five lengths off the leader.
The field bunched noticeably inside the 600 metres, and there was a line of four runners up front with Solar Charged, Chance Bye, Military Rose and Cristallo spread across the track.
Tracking this quartet of runners on the fence was Jesse’s Girl for Blake Shinn and Peter Morgan.
A clear last in the event was Party Time for Anthony Cummings and former kiwi hoop Michael Walker. The duo spotted the leading horse’s seven lengths as the field commenced the turn for home.
Blake Shinn on Jesse’s Girl made a move rounding the home turn to ease across Solar Charge’s heels and look for a split between runners. Coincidently Solar Charge didn’t handle the tight turning circuit of Moonee Valley too well and wobbled around the home turn on the wrong leg four horses off the fence.
This sequence of events left a saloon passage for jockey Boss and Lone Rock to rail through underneath the entire field and challenge for the lead upon straightening.
Jesse’s Girl and Lone Rock raced up to strike the front over Military Girl inside the furlong.
By virtue of a rails hugging ride and all the luck in the world, Lone Rock was very strong to the line and worried Jesse’s Girl out of it over the concluding stages of the event to score well. In third placing was the Magic Millions victor Military Rose who was posted wide for the last half of the race and did well to battle on strongly.
WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Robert Smerdon: “Trialling her four days before (the race) was a bit of a concern … we just wanted to see that she wouldn’t over-race but she settled beautifully.
“She's pretty tractable and Glen said she's great to ride so that's probably going to be the key to her.
“I looked at the gate and I felt sick … we had to go back from the barrier.
“I said to Glen ‘if you are on the fence and you don’t get a crack at them, I’ll cop that.’
“She got her chance and took it…..It was an amazing ride from Glen.
"I don't know about the Thousand Guineas. I'll talk to Glen, but it's great that she's won a black type race.
Jockey Glen Boss: "It's really great credit to Robert (Smerdon) because it's really nice riding for these trainers that listen to you.
"She's been a work in progress this filly. She's got lots of ability as you can see being placed behind Toorak Toff at her first preparation.
"Last start I rode her here I said ‘she really wants blinkers on’ and it's great that he listened.
"He trialled her and said she went well and I really thought she could win."
PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Lone Rock): 15.00 out to 20.00.
Favourite (Solar Charged) 3.50 out to 3.60 into 3.40. Finished ninth.
Horse to follow: Taken by the run of Party Hard from the Anthony Cummings yard. Having only her second career start, the Fastnet Rock filly settled a clear last in the event and managed to pick off a few in the run home to finish on the heels of the placegetters. Will win races over further as her campaign progresses.
STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Jesse’s Girl jumped away a little awkwardly and made contact with the hindquarters of Obsidian Dragon.
After passing the 1000m Spurcific shifted in before being straightened but in doing so tightened the running of Lone Rock which then got its head up being restrained. This also caused some inconvenience to Party Hard which was following.
Royal Bender pulled very hard in the early and middle stages.
Cristallo raced wide without cover.
After passing the 400m Lone Rock shifted out and bumped Obsidian Dragon which got unbalanced.
Over the concluding stages Chance Bye had to be eased to avoid the heels of Jesse’s Girl which shifted out under pressure.
C Newitt (Solar Charged) explained that his mount travelled well early but once his mount got on its wrong lead leg it was then was under pressure.
M Rodd (Military Rose) explained that passing the 800m his mount commenced to over-race after being crossed by Chance Bye and was left with no other option that to shift to a three wide position from that point.
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