EF SEPT 04 - GENERAL PURPLE GIVES FIVE STAR PERFORMANCE

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Eagle Farm, September 4, 2010.
Track - Good 3. Rail - True.
Class 6 Handicap - 1400m.
Time: 1-23.01. Last 600m: 35.91. (Carrying 58kg).
1 General Purple; 2 Mr Orient; 3 King Of The Kongo.
Margins: Half-neck, 0.50L.

Every stable goes through the in-form, out-of-form cycle … the peaks and troughs that are a seemingly inevitable part of the lot of a racehorse trainer.

That is a fact of life, as is the certainty that when it comes to the in-form part of the cycle few stables can match the way Brian Smith comes good with his horses. When his stable hits its straps, almost every runner raises its game and some go on to dominate the ‘hot spot’ period.

A week ago Meet George landed his fifth win in a row for the stable. On Saturday at Eagle Farm, General Purple made it three wins from last four starts when he came home strongly in the concluding stages to beat off Mr Orient by a half-neck margin under the steadying burden of 58kg.

General Purple was caught three to four wide in the early part and jockey Larry Cassidy elected to ease his mount back to just worse than midfield as Defend The Hill went out to set the early target.

General Purple continued to race three wide in seventh place, some seven lengths off the leader in the sweep to the turn as Defend The Hill led Harney at the head of affairs with Mr Orient and Tycoon’s Pride tracking the speed in third and fourth place respectively.

Defend The Hill still held the advantage as the field straightened. Harney was in close attendance in second spot. Mr Orient raced inside that one and was looking for the opportunity to push out off the heels of Defend The Hill and bully his way past Harney. Tycoon’s Pride was still right there, three wide and travelling comfortably.

General Purple was still being ridden very patiently by Cassidy. He had yet to improve his position.

The field remained relatively tightly packed in the first half of the straight so that, when Mr Orient took the lead away from Defend The Hill coming through the 200m mark, there was wall of runners within three lengths of the new leader, with a large number of these runners going well enough to have their chance.

General Purple was the runner to respond best to the challenge. He went from racing in sixth place, four lengths back, at the 200m to move up into third place, and closing, just a length-and-a-half behind Mr Orient with 100m left to run.

The latter kept kicking and he did well to fight on after being placed under severe pressure for the last furlong but, in the end, his effort was only rewarded with a runner-up finish as Cassidy brought General Purple through with a finely timed finish to claim the honours by a half-neck margin.

The ever-consistent General Purple is now a six-time winner (with ten minor placings) from twenty-four starts.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Brian Smith: “A good jockey like Larry Cassidy and the confidence he has got the horse in making him hit the line … it’s just great.

“This horse here … he has earned a little spell. You know the consistency and the will to win, I’m just so proud of him. What he did today with that weight, it shows he’ll win better races at the carnival next year. So to the paddock he goes … but, have a look at my face. I just love winning.

“You know him and Meet George (who recently completed five-in-a-row for the stable) … I wouldn’t like to line them up together.”

Jockey Larry Cassidy: “I was sort of expecting that I might have been a bit closer, because I didn’t think there was much speed inside of it.

“They all kicked up, so I had to snag him back and I got in quite nice. The main thing with him is to get him to relax. He threw his head once and then came back underneath me.

“Yeah, I waited and waited. That’s very, very important. He’s better if he can get there the last three strides. He’s a lot better. He’s has got pacifiers on. Normally when he gets to the front he pricks his ears and tends to pull up. The pacifiers have helped him get to the line and keep him to the line.

“Realistically, you know, all honours go to Brian Smith. He’s done a great job with him to keep him up.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (General Purple): 5.50 out to 6.50 in to 5.50.
Favourite (Rock Home Late): 4.20, scratched at barrier.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Rock Home Late, which reared in the barriers, was declared a late scratching at 5.10 p.m. by order of stewards acting on veterinary advice. Stable representative for trainer T. Martin was advised that Rock Home Late must obtain two further barrier certificates prior to racing again.

King Of The Kongo (App J. Wood) stood flatfooted at the start and lost considerable ground. Trainer S. Ryan was advised that King Of The Kongo must obtain two further barrier certificates prior to racing again.

I've Got Talent (S. Katsidis) was slow to begin.

M. Cahill the rider of Harney lost use of his near-side stirrup iron shortly after the start, which placed him at a disadvantage for a short distance.

Tuscon Rain (S. Seamer) over-raced in the early stages and near the 1200m shifted out resulting in Harney and General Purple (L. Cassidy) being taken wider on the track. A short distance later General Purple shifted in when over-racing and as a result I've Got Talent (S. Katsidis) had to be eased to avoid its heels. General Purple continued to race ungenerously in the early stages.

When the pace steadied near the 1000m Mr Orient had to be restrained to avoid the heels of Defend The Hill (App E. Kehoe). As a result Brigadoon Star (K. Forrester), Pinpoint Accuracy (App M. Hellyer) and La Bella Luisa (C. Munce) all had to be steadied. This resulted in La Bella Luisa shifting out taking I've Got Talent wider on the track.

La Bella Luisa was unable to be ridden out over the concluding stages when placed awkwardly at the heels of Tycoon's Pride (J. Byrne).

After passing the 100m Harney, which was weakening, had to be eased to avoid the heels of Mr Orient (D. Browne), which shifted out under pressure. D. Browne the rider of Mr Orient was advised to exercise greater care when shifting ground in future.

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