THE DOOMBEN WRAP - FEBRUARY 1, 2025
By Graham Potter | Saturday, February 1, 2025
Racing was at Doomben on Saturday February 1 – a ten-race card.
Three favourites saluted on a day in which Gold Coast based trainers (Lee Freedman, the Neasham/Archbald training partnership, the Edmonds/MacLean training partnership and Scott Morrisey) claimed four races, Northern New South Wales trainers (Matthew Dunn, Ethan Ensby and Scott Henley) made their presence felt by winning three races, Sunshine Coast scored one win (Stuart Kendrick) while Michael Morrison put Beaudesert on the scoreboard. … making it a rare day for Brisbane trainers in which they only claimed one race with champion trainer Tony Gollan left as the last man standing.
No jockey made it to two wins on the day … but this category also produced an unusual outcome with top gun Jimmy Orman failing to ride a winner, having to settle for three second places, all less than half-a-length behind the winner.
It was a day of particularly keen racing with only two races being decided by more than a length. No less than sixraces were decided by a margin of a quarter of a length or less.
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To view HRO's extensive gallery of photographs of the days winners go to:
DOOMBEN GALLERY FEBRUARY 1, 2025
DOOMBEN GALLERY FEBRUARY 1, 2025
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QTIS Two-Year-Old Handicap (1200m)
It is always a pleasure watching Micael Rodd bring home a winner, knowing you are watching a true horseman at work as Rodd and his mount seamlessly merge into a compelling, combined force with the minimum of fuss to achieve the maximum result.
Such was the case when Rodd linked up with fellow Melbourne Cup winner, Lee Freedman and the fast emerging two-year-old filly Idyllic Affair to claim a first victory for the daughter of Prince Fawaz in only her second career start.
Idyllic Affair had put the writing on the wall when finishing runner-up to the useful Dushenka in her debut run.
Idyllic Affair ($5) beat the Tony Gollan trained, $1.65 favourite Boomshanka home by 0.25 lengths.
Boomshanka was the first of three second placed finishes in a frustrating day for leading jockey Jimmy Orman.
BM 80 Handicap (2200m)
The distance race on the card and the Dundeel mare Chassagne arrived with a well-timed finishing effort under Ronnie Stewart to claim a fourth career victory from twenty starts.
Her previous win had come four runs back over the same track and distance and, inbetween wins, she had also finished a close-up second over the same trip, results which highlight her clear liking for the Doomben 2200m.
Overall, the Annabel Neasham and Rob Archbald trained Chassagne’s record over 2200 is three wins (two at Doomben and one at the Sunshine Coast) and four runner-up finishes from seven starts.
BM 68 Handicap (1600m)
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One race after the Neasham/ Archbald runner Chassagne had saluted, a former Neasham / Archbald trained runner, Smart Action, earned his place in the winners’ enclosure courtesy of the training efforts of Michael Morrison and apprentice jockey Tahlia Fenlon.
This was Smart Action’s fifth start for his new stable and it brought a second successive win after the son of Smart Missile had saluted at Beaudesert over 1400m in his previous start.
Smart Action took the step up to city class and a distance lift from 1400m to 1600m in his stride to score a just under two lengths after shortening in the betting from $6 to $5.
Class 6 Handicap (1600m)
She might have been clinging on at the end, but ultimately the margin of victory was just a minor detail in the continuing success story of the four-year-old mare Torabella when she landed her seventh win in just her eleventh start for the Tony Gollan stable.
The daughter of Toronado was, in fact, saluting for the fifth time in seven starts since resuming from a six month break away from race action on October 24, a run which includes a current unbeaten sequence of three successive wins … all achieved with apprentice Emily Lang in the saddle.
Her latest two successes have come over 1600m. She has also won over 1660m, 1350m (twice) and 1350m and has scored over both good and soft going.
No Metro Wins Handicap (1110m)
After wins at Grafton and Lismore and two other placed finishes in his last four starts, Maximum Vortex had earned his chance in town and a No Metro Win Handicap was the obvious choice made by trainer Ethan Ensby.
Not that there was much respect for Maximum Vortex in the betting. The five-year-old gelding started at $18 but made a mockery of that price when finishing best of all under another more than competent ride by Cejay Graham.
The son of Kuroshio has an impressive strike-rate, winning seven out of eighteen starts, five of which have come on good going with two wins on soft going.
Maximum Vortex provided a milestone win for Ensby with the gelding giving him win number 100 in his training career.
Class 2 Plate (1350m)
The lightly raced four-year-old gelding Fukubana, who was second-up here, scored his third win from only eight starts for trainer Matthew Dunn with Andrew Mallyon doing the honours in the saddle.
Fukubana won on debut at the restrictive odds of $1.65 at Eagle Farm over 1000m and struck again three runs later at odds of $1.45 at Doomben over 1200m.
That set up attempts at the Group 2 Hobartville (in which Fukubana finished fourth) and the Group 1 Randwick Guineas (in which Fukubana finished unplaced) in Sydney.
It is worth noting that both of those races were won by Celestial Legend , who would go on to win the $4 million Doncaster.
Following the Guineas run Fukukama was away from race action for ten months before resuming with a third place finish over 1200m and then going on to secure this second-up win over 1200m, again going out at the very short odds of $1.95.
Fukubana was the second of the Dundeel progeny to win on the day.
QTIS Three-Year-Old Handicap (1200m)
The Stuart Kendrick trained filly, Just Precious, made it back-to-back wins to remain unbeaten this preparation when taking full benefit from a rails-hugging ride by apprentice Cody Collis.
Her record now four wins from two starts.
In her first preparation Kendrick thought enough of the daughter of Justify to bring her straight to town where she acquitted herself well with a third and a second placing, both times finishing only a length behind the winner over 1350m.
She resumed with a Maiden win over 1000m at the Sunshine Coast and then came straight back to town to make no mistake this time in claiming her city win.
Just Precious was punted in from $3,20 to $2,50 and was the third favourite (after Torabella and Fukubana) to win on the day. She would also be the last favourite to score at the meeting.
BM 85 Handicap (1350m)
The Toby Edmonds and Stephen MacLean trained Corfe Castle came good under an inch perfect ride by Ryan Maloney to land a sixth career win.
The son of Better Than Ready had won over the same track and distance in the last start of his previous preparation.
He was third-up here and his two runs back after a two-month break … both unplaced at long odds … had to be taken in the right context.
You could draw a line through his first-up run on a heavy 10 surface … Corfe Castle has yet perform on a heavy track … and his second-up run certainly was not without value, even if the record showed hie only finished seventh out of ten runners.
That run came in the $1.5 million Magic Millions QTIS Open which was won by Tony Gollan’s nine-time winner Hidden Wealth, who had previously saluted in both the Listed Weetwood and the Group 3 George Moore, so there was no shame in finishing 3.80 lengths behind such a well-performed winner, as Corfe Castle did.
A more fruitful run was always likely next up, although he remained easy to back at $6.
He had to work for the win though as only a length covered the first three horses across the line.
Open Handicap (1200m)
In the $1.5 million Magic Millions QTIS Open, Safework finished ahead of Corfe Castle (the pervious race winner on this card) so, if you had picked out Corfe Castle as having a chance coming out of that strong race … you had to give Safework a second glance.
Or apparently not!
Safework was roundly neglected in the betting but came home an absolutely worthy winner at a starting price of $16 under jockey Robbie Dolan.
Safeway, who has been superbly managed by trainer Scott Morrisey, is a seven-year-old veteran of fifty-nine starts but, far from feeling the pinch, it seems he is thriving as never before having won three of his last six starts … all city wins.
Class 4 Handicap (1200m)
If Safework striking at $16 was a setback for punters they were not going to find any respite in the last race on the card … but every race result means different things to different people and there was an absolute explosion of pure joy from the winning connections when the Scott Henley trained Volcanic Love (another $16 winner) flew up late to snatch victory away from the $3.90 favourite Mintaka Lad.
Just like Maximum Vortex, who won earlier in the day, Volcanic Love brought solid enough Northern New South Wales form to the party over his last six starts … wins at Grafton and Lismore and a second at Coffs Harbour … and there was also a third place at Eagle Farm in there as well … but most punters chose to look elsewhere.
Few of those would begrudge the Henley’s their family’s celebration though. At its core, that is really is what racing is all about and it was good to see.
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