THE DOOMBEN WRAP - FEBRUARY 8, 2025

By Graham Potter | Saturday, February 8, 2025

Racing was at Doomben on Saturday February 8 – a ten-race card.

Five favourites saluted on a day. Those five main fancy wins came over the first eight races on the card, but there was no big finish for the followers of favourites. In fact, all of their good work up until them might have gone up in a cloud of smoke if they didn’t back off at the right time because the winners on races nine and ten came home at starting prices of $17 and $16 respectively.

Robert Heathcote took the training honours, being the only trainer to notch a double on the day. A special mention is due to trainer Maureen Harry as she landed her first Doomben win with Arizona Dreaming, the only horse she has in work.

On the jockey front Emily Lang, Nikita Beriman and Cejay Graham all rode two winners … Graham bringing home the longest price winner on the day (That’s Molly) while Beriman had Termagant in the frame with the biggest winning margin on the day … 2.33 lengths … that statistic highlighting what a keen day of racing it was as six races were decided by a margin of a length or less with a last race producing a spectacular cavalry charge with only 1.92 lengths covering the first seven runners across the line.
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To view HRO's extensive gallery of photographs of the days winners go to:

DOOMBEN GALLERY FEBRUARY 8, 2025

DOOMBEN GALLERY FEBRUARY 8, 2025
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QTIS Two-Year-Old Handicap (1110m).

The Kelly Schweida trained Sunrays, the $3.10 favourite, scored a second, impressive win in as many starts outgunning the debutant Pretty Dubious ($6) in a two-way battle over the closing stages, hitting the line strongly to secure the victory by a neat one length margin.

The daughter of Hellbent was a debut winner at her previous start over the same track and distance, getting home by a similar margin.

Cejay Graham was in the saddle on both occasions and her handling of the two-year-old has been spot on and has been a contributing factor to the filly’s obvious progress which has seen her bank $70 800 in eighteen days.

BENCHMARK 68 Handicap (1600m).

Having had to settle for second place with Pretty Dubious in the opener, the Robert Heathcote stable wasted no time in getting their winner which came in the form of the very smart Just Flying, who jumped as the $4.80 favourite in an open betting race.

The open nature of the race predicted by the betting came through in the race itself in which only 1,85 lengths covered the first four horses across the line, with Just Flying leading that charge under a confident ride by Emily Lang, who picked up the ride in the absence of Jasper Franklin.

Just Flying is now a four-time winner from only seven starts … with two runner-up finishes. The only time the Star Turn gelding has finished out of the first two places was on debut back on July 5, 2024 over 1200m, which was, in essence, a pipe-opener for him.

Just Flying’s first two wins came over 1350m and she has followed up with two wins over 1600m and a current prize-money haul of $116 650.

BENCHMARK 70 Handicap (2200m).

When you have only one horse in work, and you pull off a Saturday metropolitan win … your first at Doomben …there are plenty of reasons to be proud of that achievement, so it is hats off all around to trainer Maureen Harry.

The six-year-old gelding Arizona Dreaming was the horse which gave Harry a landmark win, Michael Rodd quickly had Arizona dreaming up on the speed after jumping from the worst of the draw (barrier twelve out of twelve) and he took over the lead passing the 1400m mark and he was never headed after that.

The son of Stratum Star, who started at $5.50, was well due for the win having finished in the frame in all of his four starts immediately prior to this run, most notably when finished second in his last start.

The writing was on the wall, but the job still had to be done … and Artizona Dreaming duly put in the effort and earned his reward.

Class 1 Plate (1200m).

Surprise Honey made no mistake here, winning every bit as decisively as the 2.17 length margin suggests.

The lightly raced, Tony Gollan trained daughter of Extreme Choice had looked all over the winner at her previous start but was denied that victory when The Gambling Greek fought back to edge her out on the line … so there was some vindication in this result.

In spite of that near miss in her previous start, the three-year-old, who gave jockey Emily Lang her second win over the first four races on the card, was easy to back at $7 and, fourth-up here, the win franked the pleasing, progressive improvement Surprise Honey has shown in recent starts.

QTIS Three-Year-Old Handicap (1600m).

The Martin Harley / Savour The Dream jockey / horse combination were seen at their very best when they proved too strong for the opposition, scoring a second successive win with some aplomb.

Harley was instrumental in setting up the victory when he showed exceptional early expertise in identifying and urging Savour The Dream (the $3.50 favourite) into a gap towards the inside very soon after the break, a move which took the sting out of the disadvantage of a wide, number ten barrier draw.

Then, it was Savour The Dream’s turn to put in the hard yards in the home straight where he has to knuckle down with meaning to be able to repel all challengers, in particular that of the faster finishing Prince Levi ($6) who he held at bay by 0.50 lengths.

The Bevan Laming trained colt, a three-year-old son of Super Seth, is now a three-time winner from only seven starts and he also has two second places to his credit and on both of those occasions he finished less than a length behind the winner.

Class 3 Plate (1110m).

Termagant, a lightly raced four-year-old mare, lived up to his potential she has shown to claim a solid victory by 2.33 lengths, the biggest winning margin on the day.

The Matthew Hoysted trained son of Deep Field did not race as a two-year-old, but thrived during her three-year-old campaign winning three out of her four starts in six months of measured race action from January to July 2024 when trained by the Steven O’Dea and Mathew Hoysted training partnership.

Since then, Termagant has been solely under the care of Hoysted and she produced two successive runner-up finishes immediately prior to this win, both times finishing as a beaten favourite when snapping at the heels of the winner.

Punters who struck fast with Termagant, who started top of the betting boards once again at $2.70, were rewarded for their patience.

Nikita Beriman, who was in the saddle Termagant for the last of those second place finishes retained the ride here and carried off her task to perfection.

Spare a thought for the second placed Secret Revolution who has now finished either second or third in each of his last six starts.

OPEN Handicap (1600m).

Nikita Beriman completed a race-to-race double … and also helped give trainer Robert Heathcote a double on the day (he had won earlier with Just Flying) … when she guided Dune Forty Five to a clearcut win at the generous odds of $9.50, given that Dune Forty Five had finished less than two lengths off the winner in his two previous starts.

The seven-year-old son of Americain has been something of a warhorse for the stable and, even though it had been a long time between drinks, Dune Forty Five pounded out the eighth win his career (in his forty-sixth start) like he was a new kid on the block relishing his task.

They don’t come more honest than this one.

No Metro Wins Handicap (1350m).

The Jimmy Downes trained Influential was made to look like a good thing in the betting market.

The four-year-old son of The Autumn Sun shortened into a clear favourite at $2.20 with only two other runners, at odds of $6.50 and $8, priced under the $14 mark … and the betting move proved to be spot on when Andrew Mallyon pushed Influential into the lead when it mattered most to score by a 0.63 length margin.

The former Chris Waller trained runner was having his second run for Downes. He had finished second when he debuted for the Downes stable and he duly built on that effort to prove too good for his opposition here.

The Downes stable itself is picking up momentum nicely enough. Since the start of the new year Downes has saddled four winners from only eleven starters.

That’s a 2025 winning strike-rate so far of 36.36 percent. We are always looking for a horse’s name to add to the note-book for future reference.

Perhaps this is one where a note should be made of the trainer’s name.

BENCHMARK 78 Handicap (1600m).

When Infuential won the eighth race, he became the fifth favourite to salute on the day, suggesting that punters were having a good day up until then.

The last two races would put an end to that comfort zone punting tough. It was time for the bookmakers to bite back and it was the Glen Milligan trained That’s Molly who led that charge, coming with a rattle from well back, after dropping out early from the worse of the draw (barrier eleven out of eleven, under the confident guiding influence of Cejay Graham in the saddle.

That’s Molly, who was easy to back at $7, was having her first start in Queensland.

There was a two week gap between this win and the chestnut mare’s previous start at Randwick where, although finishing out of the placings there was enough in the 3.23 length defeat there to suggest improvement could well come with the change in scenery.

That’s Molly will remain in Queensland having been transferred from Milligan to the stable of Lawrie Mayfield-Smith after the win.

BENCHMARK 85 Handicap (1200m).

Master Showman was easily the outsider .of the Stuart Kendrick trained duo in the race, starting at the juicy odds of $16 as opposed to the stable’s well fancied runner Lost In Transit who jumped as the $3.10 favourite … yet it was Master Showman who prevailed in a highly pressurised finish in which no less than seven runners finished within two lengths of the winner.

While Lost In Transit had race fitness on his side (this was his fourth start this prep) and a big tick with a runner-up finish behind Elettrica in the Sunshine Coast Cup in his previous start, Master Showman was resuming here following a four month break from race action.

Being first-up, you could have thought there might be some chink in Master Showman’s armour so early in his preparation, but, instead, the son of Snitzel displayed rock-hard commitment and a desire to win the fight, without which he would arguably not have earned the result.

This was also just another example of how horses run for jockey Angela Jones, who seems to get a couple of lengths extra out of her mounts, irrespective of their starting price.

This was Master Showman’s fifth win from twenty-five starts and it took his earnings through the quarter-of-a-million dollar mark.

Lost in transit did finish third with the two Kendrick runners being separated by the second placed Zouperb, another runner who started at long priced odds.

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