DOOMBEN ON SATURDAY ... ALL THE WINNERS

By Graham Potter | Monday, August 10, 2020

The Desleigh Forster / Taylor Marshall combination has been really quick out of the gates at the start of the new season. Forster has sent out eight runners since August 1 (all ridden by Taylor Marshall) and the stable has converted that into a fifty percent winning strike rate with Forster’s four winners being Apache Chase, Georgie’s Pride, Our Ariana and Elloh.

Apache Chase was winning for the second successive time to remain unbeaten this preparation with an overall record of two wins from four starts. Georgie’s Pride won first-up at the third time of asking. Our Ariana had been marking time a bit with three previous seconds on her resume but she finally nabbed that Maiden win in her eighth start while Elloh made it two wins from three starts when taking the step up from 1200m to 1350m in his stride.

WINNER FEEDBACK:

Trainer Desleigh Forster: “She a little pearler of a filly this. She’s got the right attitude. She just switches off. Even at home at track gallops when she works with horses … she’ll just sit back off them and ten metres from the post she will just stick her head out. She does play up behind the gate so she still needs to chill a bit on race-day. It’s only her third start in a race and she is learning. The only problem she has got is she is a bit small but I think this horse has got a bright future. There is a mile race in two weeks for her so she will go there and we’ll assess her again then.”
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The Brian Wakefield / Larry Cassidy combination is another team running hot and they kept their scoreboard moving with a double on the day, winning with Roman Aureus and Jardin Rouge.

After going winless in a four start first preparation, Roman Aureus spelled for nearly eight months and returned a far different proposition. Saturday’s success was his fourth win from his last seven starts and he also has a second place and two third placings to his credit during this period of ultra-consistent performance.

WINNER FEEDBACK:

Trainer Brian Wakefield: “There was good speed on and he was travelling up nicely. He just needed that run to appear. Once he got into clear running, he got to the line nicely. The main thing today was to keep him balanced on that track … you know, the cut is just out of it. It’s been a big effort all around to keep him up. We have gone from a Maiden winner to being a pretty short-priced favourite and winning a Metro Class 6 race on a Saturday … all in one prep.”

Jardin Rouge was also a slow starter with her first two results being nothing to wrote home about. Again, a spell (this time for long nineteen months) helped her turn the corner. On returning, she finished second first-up and then proceeded to win five in a row, going from a Maiden to a Benchmark 70 victory in five facile steps.

The next win proved to be elusive though and took another eight runs (and eleven months) before it arrived on the back of a series of placed runs. This latest win came second-up after a two-month spell taking the seven-year-old’s overall record to a highly credible seven wins and six placings from nineteen starts.
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Cloak, the Medaglia D'oro gelding, made it three wins from three starts since transferring to the David Vandyke stable. Cloak started his career with James Cummings under whose care he claimed two wins from twelve starts before moving on to the Mack Griffith where he only had one run.

Vandyke then became Cloak’s third trainer and the five-year-old’s three straight wins, since resuming from a ten-month spell, have come at three different tracks (Ipswich, Sunshine Coast and Doomben) while stepping up over three different distances (1350m, 1400m and 1615m). Ryan Maloney did the honours in the saddle.

WINNER FEEDBACK:

Trainer David Vandyke: “I didn’t think a lot of him when I got him. I knew he had been a good horse as a three-year-old, but I didn’t have high expectations because of his recent form. The owners sent him up to me and said, do your best … see if you can win a race. I wasn’t expecting to win three-in-a-row. I thought he might have been questionable at the mile. Before the corner Ryan (Maloney) gave him a good shake-up and I thought, geez he’s been rolling along a bit and I hope he has got something to offer … but, clearly, he found another gear and the last hundred was very impressive. No plans at this stage. I was just trying to take him through his grades and it is good that he got the mile today.”
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Multi-premiership winning trainer Tony Gollan jumped into a clear early lead in this season’s premiership when he landed two winners on the day … Say Haya and Just Orm.

Say Haya started his career with the Pat Duff stable but was transferred to the Gollan yard in October 2019 since which time he has maintained a more than fair strike rate of four wins from eleven starts, winning from 1000m to 1200m. This victory was secured in the very last stride.

WINNER FEEDBACK:

Trainer Tony Gollan: “Everything looked to be panning out very well in the run … maybe going a little bit keen mid-race which she can. Ryan presented her at the right time. Ryan makes no mistakes. It surprised me how long it took to get past that leader who gave a very good kick. I guess, maybe we were coming off a very heavy run over 1200m only two weeks ago back to the 1100. She probably really needed the 1200m still, but a really good effort. A really improving filly this preparation. She’s done a lot of tough racing in those three-year-old races … back to restricted today and she did go up a lot in weight. She is a really consistent mare and, while she keeps drawing good gates, I think you’ll see her running good races.”

Just Orm claimed his ninth career win showing he is still competitive as a seven-year-old. Notably, he has earned a place in the winners’ enclosure in every racing season since kicking off as a two-year-old in 2015. Impressive without ever been sensational … this win was by the proverbial whisker … Just Orm now has brought a $391 550 return on his owners $45 000 investment.

WINNER FEEDBACK:

Trainer Tony Gollan: “I think a few things played out. He really has no love for wet ground. I think the delay* has helped him because the track has started to dry out a little bit. That was a big plus. He is just the model of consistency. He is a real short course horse … you know, 1050 to 1100 … and when he draws well, he invariably runs really well on good ground.”
*From the steward’s report: ‘Following a delay resulting from stewards investigating a COVID-19 venue compliance breach, the times for Races 5 to 8 were put back on race start time, with Race 9 being rescheduled to 4:58 pm.

Ryan Maloney rode both of the Gollan winners.
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More a placegetter than a winner, the Chris Waller trained Fairy Me Home had given notice in his previous outing that a third career win might not be far away. In that start he was narrowly beaten by the $41 outsider Brando but, dropping back from 1800m to 1650m, the New Zealand bred son of Shamexpress rallied late to claim that elusive victory by the narrowest of margins.

It had been ten starts since Fairy Me Home’s previous win, but he did place on five occasions during that period, underlining the honesty of the five-year-old who was ridden here by Luke Dittman.

WINNER FEEDBACK:

Chris Waller stable representative Paul Shailer: “He got up in the last stride which probably suits him really. He is not a horse who likes to see the winning post too soon. He didn’t have too much choice with the speed going around him at the 600 or 700 and horses making runs but Luke (Dittman) just rode him patiently. Luke rides well for us. I think the mile is probably the right distance for this horse. 2000m probably is a bit too much for him.”
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The Scott Morrisey trained Blacklog has been pretty hard to catch throughout his career and the same basically applied here.

In three of his five starts prior to this victory Blacklog had finished within less than two lengths of the winner. He was stepping up to 2020m (from 1800m) and he was quoted at $11 (a big difference from the $67 from his last start) … so there were some favourable pointers but with just two wins from twenty starts going into the race there was seemingly an equal amount of concern pulling against him, a consideration which kept him at double figure odds.

In the end, Sean Cormack rated his mount to perfection, Blacklog responded and the result put Blacklog’s third win in the bank.

WINNER FEEDBACK:

Trainer Scott Morrisey: “His run was alright the other day he was just in the wrong part of the track and probably just a fraction too close .... not the rider’s fault. He had a good gate and began too well and got stuck there. When the rain came and we drew the outside gate I was pretty confident. When I was talking to the rider before the race, he said … look, they are not really making ground from behind … and I said … you will never get into trouble riding to instructions. That’s our call. Ride him cold. Get to the outside. If he is good enough, he will get there.”
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Aheadofhistime, a $26 chance, ran out the longest priced winner on the day. The gelding started his career with Billy Healey and was transferred to the Kelly Schweida stable in January 2020.

In his opening five races for the Schweida yard Aheadofhistime won three times, albeit at Kilcoy (twice) and Gatton (once) as he went about learning his craft.
On Saturday Aheadofhistime was first-up after close on a four-month spell and the way he rallied late under Jimmy Orman to snatch the honours was an impressive way to go about claiming your first city win … and a Saturday metro win at that.

WINNER FEEDBACK:

Trainer Kelly Schweida: “He’s had a couple of jump-outs and trials … and he trialled alright. I’ve got to give Jimmy (Orman) a wrap. He was pretty confident he would run in the first three. Down the running I was bit worried if he was going to get a clear run. He was strong late. We decided to ride him back last start at the Sunshine Coast. He was just about to get into it when horses fell in front of him and Jimmy nearly fell off. You know you can always say you were going to do this or that, but Jimmy certainly thought he was going to hit the line hard … and so we rode him back in the trials as well and it worked out for us today.”
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IMPORTANT EXTRACTS FROM THE STEWARD'S REPORT (Race 8):

NICCANOVA – Shifted out near the 300m and made contact with Papa Jo and soon afterwards shifted in under pressure and made heavy contact with Cool Sequence.

*(Niccanova produced a barnstorming run in spite of the interference and only failed to get up by the narrowest of margins).

TULLIO – Struck the side of the gate whilst entering the track. J. Byrne reported that he trotted the horse around at the barriers and it was examined by the veterinary surgeon who passed it fit to race, which jockey Byrne agreed with as the horse felt free in its action. He added that the horse travelled very well throughout the race until placed under pressure upon straightening and did not feel comfortable in its action and it was his view that in hindsight making contact with the gate when entering the track may have had more of a bearing on its performance than he first thought. A post-race veterinary examination revealed the gelding to have sustained a laceration to the inside off fore cannon during running and was sore in the off foreleg. Trainer T. Gollan was advised that TULLIO will require a veterinary clearance prior to racing again.

*(Tullio, who was looking for his fifth win in a row, stated a strong $2.05 favourite).