SCST OCT 18 - SHARUFA BACK AND FIRING

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Sunshine Coast, October 18, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 8m.
Class 3 Plate (Set Weights) - 1200m. Time: 1-12.73.
1 Sharufa; 2 Sweet Sassi; 3 Salice.

The Bryan Guy trained Sharufa bounced back to her best with an eye-catching first-up win when resuming after a four-and-a-half month spell.

Now a four-year-old, Sharufa had struggled to make progress in her previous two preps, coming up well short of the promise she had displayed as a two-year-old where she raced four times for two wins (including the Magic Millions 2yo Plate) and two second placings.

That’s what made this return to form so pleasing for her connections. Her ability was never in doubt. Getting her to produce her best had been the poser. Here all the pieces fell into place under a typical cool ride from jockey Paul Hammersley, who only asked his mount to do what was required to win and thus the margin of victory arguably flattered the place-getters.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Bryan Guy: “Well, going back to when she was a two-year-old, she only got beaten a head first-up ... won ... got beat, run second again ... but I won the Magic Millions consolation with her. Then she had a break and came back. Because she was up in that grade they were just a bit too good for her ... and she never spelled real good, so we just had to take our time.

“This time she’s come back like her old self. She looked great and she’s done really well this time. We thought she could win. She trialled good. She won her trail first-up. Her last few gallops have been terrific and I said to (owner) ‘Lucky’ (Pippos) I thought she’d win. So let’s hope there’s better thing to come.”

Jockey Paul Hammersley: “She’s come back very well from a spell. She just lost her way a little bit last prep. She travelled well through the race. He got a little bit tired at the end, but she was probably entitled to first-up.”

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Joburg Angel (K. Pope) began awkwardly. Salice (S. Katsidis) and Regal Reason (C. Bumstead) were both tightened for room shortly after the start between Krisalo (K. Wharton) and Irishkiwi (J. Byrne), which shifted in.

Blazing Hearts (C. McIver) raced ungenerously in the early and middle stages and as a result raced wide for the majority of the event. Leaving the 800m, Irishkiwi (J. Byrne) had to be steadied when the pace slackened. Near 750m, Joburg Angel shifted in, making contact with the running rail and became unbalanced. Sheeza Drama (R. Hinricks) raced wide for the majority of the event.