ROGERSON STRIKES WITH AWESOME PLANET

By Graham Potter | Saturday, May 16, 2009

Doomben Roses (Group 3) - 2020m. Time 2-04.37. Track: Good 3. Rail: Out 2m the entire circuit.
1 Awesome Planet; 2 Ekstreme; 3 Purple.

As the Sydney Autumn Carnival showed, Jim Cassidy has got that winning touch. That was on show again when Cassidy let Awesome Planet run an uncomplicated race before producing her at exactly the right time to take the initiative in the straight. Ekstreme emerged from the pack and threatened to make a race of it, but Cassidy had kept that vital bit extra in reserve. That, and a strong ride over the finish few yards, ensured that Graeme Rogerson would be making the speech.

WINNER FEEDBACK
Trainer Graeme Rogerson: “She’s a little bit unlucky ... unlucky not to be New Zealand filly of the year. Just had no luck. She was in an accident the day of the Oaks in the float with a motorbike, and she was a late scratching. She could have won three or four of the big ones. She’s a pretty good filly this. It beat the older mares at weight for age. I said to Jimmy (Cassidy), look at her ... she’s got hair on her an inch and a half long. We couldn’t clip her because she didn’t get here until Thursday morning. It was a good decision, I think she’ll be hard to beat in the Oaks ... taking a line through Daffodil, you know.”

Jockey Jim Cassidy: “It was my first ride on the horse today. Look, she’s not very big, but she is all heart. I was travelling really good at the 600m, so I sort of had to peel out three deep. I even sort of sat for ten or twelve strides when I straightened, I was going that good. The thing that I liked was her determination and she will improve with the run. It was a good tough win. She was a bit hairy, but she’ll get clipped before the Oaks and she’ll look a lot better. I’ll ride her in the Oaks, mate. She’ll stay a mile-and-a-half.

“Brisbane was the first place I came to when I shifted from New Zealand, so I’ve got a lot of fond memories here (including three successive wins on Rough Habit in the Doomben Cup). The State Of Origin’s coming up. Go the Queenslanders!”