THE ROAD TO THE RAMORNIE

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, July 15, 2009

The 3.10 at Grafton today should be a humdinger!

Twelve runners are due to face the starter for the Ramornie Handicap, with the likes of News Alert, Battlefield, Mr Hornblower and Teasing having the strongest claims.

Here we focus on the road to the Ramornie as followed by News Alert - the horse they will all have to beat!

News Alert joined the stable of Con Karakatsanis in mid-may in time to see action at the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival. The gelding arrived in the stable as a two-time winner from fourteen starts, but the more telling part of his form-line was the fact that he had finished in second place on five consecutive occasions before relocating to Queensland.

Second place is better than third place, but it also to some extent leaves a horse at the crossroads. Some step up and win, others have got as far as they are going to get. In that context, when you run second five times in a row, frustration can give way to concern.

May 23, 2009. Chief De Beers Handicap (Listed) - News Alert’s first run for trainer Con Karakatsanis.

Jimmy Cassidy positioned the four-year-old out wide, just off the speed. News Alert held his position quite comfortably until the turn, where Cassidy urged him forward. News Alert quickly gathered momentum and hit the front halfway up the straight. He had a number of others horses in tow, most notably Nuclear Medicine, but nobody got close enough to threaten his superiority on the day. The elusive win was safely in the bag!

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Con Karakatsanis: “I’ve only just recently got him. I’ve only had him for one start. He’s always had a lot of ability, it’s just finding the key to him. Jimmy Cassidy has won on him before, so he knows him well. I was just a little bit worried about the track today. He sat three deep with no cover and still had the audacity to still fight and win. He’s a very nice horse, but like I said I’ve only just got him, and every day I learn a lot of things with him and he’s just got better and better over time.

June 6, 2009. QTC Lightning Handicap (Listed) - News Alert finished third behind Keano.

June 20, 2009. W J Healy Stakes (Group 3) - News Alert wins for the second time in three starts and lands his first Group win.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Con Karakatsanis: “He did have a problem which we have been able to overcome. He had bad feet. He had bruised feet and he just wasn’t stretching out properly. That’s why he was laying in in his races. Once we got that fixed ... well that chink’s gone now. He is just every honest and he is winning Group races.

“He got caught wide early and had to do a bit of work, so all credit to the horse because he really had to dig deep. He fought all challenges off and he was just too good.

“I couldn’t believe his price today. Jeez he’s worked well since his last run. I was very confident. Matty (Palmer) rode him in a jump out. I’ve been good mates with Matty for a while now. He got off him and said his jump-out was like a Group horse. He went that well and he pulled up sensational. The horse is that well, so, I just couldn’t believe his price. I’m not too sure what I’ll do with him later, but he will be going to the Ramornie (at Grafton). I take him back to Sydney now and then he’ll go up to Grafton.

Jockey Tye Angland: “We drew bad. We jumped well. There was a lot of speed going on inside me so he sort of done a lot of work to get there. He likes a bit of room so I was happy where I was. From the 600m I let him have a bit of a breather and he was right and ready to go by the four. The other one (Wasted Emotions) did threaten to come back a bit on the inside. He poked his head around there a couple of times. My horse was getting a little bit tired near the end, but he wasn’t going to be denied. He was the stronger horse. It was a nice strong win.

“He is very consistent. He’s got a lot of talent. Probably early on he didn’t know where the winning post was, but he’s got it worked out now and he’s winning nice races.”

July 9, 2009. John Carlton Cup. News Alert completes a double and wins for the third time in his last four starts.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Jockey Matthew Palmer: “He had a big weight, but look he is just flying at the moment. It was a very impressive run actually. We just sat outside the leader and ... basically, coming up to the 500m the leader sort of began to fade and I just come around him and he just blew them away. Like, to run a sensational time, which he did, and to carry 63kg and to win so convincingly ... it was a very good win. So things couldn’t be better in the lead-up to the Ramornie.

“I’m on him for the Ramornie. I’m very happy about that. I really appreciate the opportunity that Con and Tony (Karakatsanis) and everyone have sort of have given me. I’ve done a bit of work with the horse - both horses News Alert and (Black) Piranha - while they were on the coast I used to go in and ride them in work when I had to.

“Con and I are best of mates so it wouldn’t have mattered to me if I’d got the ride in the Ramornie or not. But then one morning Tony said to me when he legged me on, ahh you know you’re riding him in the Ramornie? So that was a nice surprise.”

There will be no surprises for the opposition today. All will know exactly how strong New Alert can be, and much of their planning will revolve around how to beat the Karakatsanis trained runner.

While the four-year-old goes out looking for a hat-trick, the Paul Messara trained Battlefield will be looking to make it four-in-a-row. Battlefield, who is a year younger than News Alert, has shown an exceptional turn of foot in recent starts. Battlefield, who carries 1.5kg less than News Alert, has won four out of his six starts, the hat-trick being achieved in scintillating fashion.

Taking a line through The Danny Williams trained runner Wasted Emotions shows just how close a contest it can be between News Alert and Battlefield. News Alert beat Wasted Emotions by 0,75 lengths (when carrying 54kg) while Battlefield beat Wasted Emotions by 1.25 lengths (but carried 53kg, 1.50 kg less than News Alert). Wasted Emotions carried 57kg on both occasions.

Battlefield thus rates as a clear and present danger to News Alert if his brilliance can overcome his inexperience. There was a lot to like but also a lot to consider when weighing the comment of rider Daniel Ganderton after Battlefield’s last win.

WINNER FEEDBACK (after Battlefield’s win at Eagle Farm on July 9):
Apprentice jockey Daniel Ganderton: “He’s a real talent but he is still very, very raw. He did want to run in a few times in the straight. He was a fraction slow away and a bit hesitant between horses. Mid-race he actually over-raced a little bit with the winkers on.

“But I had a hell-of-a-lot of horse underneath me and I made the decision to go back inside because I felt if I got him out to the outside he’d probably be a little bit lost by himself. So I went between horses and he was probably a bit hesitant going there and a bit reluctant. When he got through, he really burst to the line. It was a terrific performance. He’s very poorly weighted against a couple of these horses - Wasted Emotions and Mitanni - for a horse with his record. But gee whiz he’s got a big future and, you know, just try and peel me away from him. He’s a real x-factor horse. I don’t think we really know how good he is just yet.”

Mr Hornblower, who so seldom is a top selection but is always a top chance, and Teasing, who was a winner at Rosehill last start look to be best of the rest.

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