APFEL STEAKS THE OPPOSITION
By Graham Potter | Saturday, December 21, 2024
The Tony and Maddysen Sears training partnership landed yet another win with a horse that came to them from another stable when Apfel saluted in a Maiden Plate over 2000m at Toowoomba on December 21.
That category has provided a long list of winners, but few have won as decisively as the grey daughter of Reliable Man who won every bit as easily as the 4.50 length winning margin suggests.
This was the four-year-old’s fourth start for the stable and her route to victory followed a familiar path that the stable has taken so many times before with success, namely implementing a gradual, progressive rise in distance for the horse until it finds its comfort zone.
For Apfel, the route chosen for her first three starts for the stable were 1300m (finished unplaced first-up), then 1625m (finished second) … then on to this 2000m contest … and the win!
A simple enough strategy, but not always an easy one to carry to fruition. Just like when you have a $1.80 favourite, it doesn’t always mean it is a ‘good thing’ but, in the case of Apfel, neither of those scenarios proved to be a problem.
Luke Dempsey had Apfel away fairly, but the speed came around him and the hot favourite went back to seventh place (in the eight-horse field) and trailed the leader by eight lengths as the field started to go down the back stretch.
Dempsey was content to hold his position on Apfel until the middle of the sweep to the home turn where he gave Apfel more rein. The grey was quick to respond and, although racing four wide, she quickly made up ground.
By the time the field straightened for home, Apfel was up to third place, and closing, now only two lengths adrift of the leader.
Just a couple of strides into the home straight, you could make that second place and only a length back and then just as quickly, Apfel was in front and sustaining the type of run to which her rivals simply had no answer … as the Sears trained runner turned the race into a procession over the last 250m.
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