CAUL OCT 13 - FASTER SON EXTENDS WINNING SEQUENCE

By Taron Clarke | Friday, October 15, 2010

Caulfield, October 13, 2010.
Track - Slow 7. Rail - True. Penetrometer 5.51.
Mittys Cup Open Handicap - 1200m.
Time: 1-11.18. 600m Sectional: 36.11. (Carrying 53kg).
1 Faster Son; 2 Launay; 3 Uxorious.
Margins: 2.3L x 1.7L.

Gold Coast based mentor Trevor Bailey's impressive galloper Faster Son took his record to six wins from only seven race track appearances with a solid victory in the $100,000 Mittys Cup at Caulfield on Wednesday.

The son of boom stallion Fastnet Rock has now notched up five consecutive wins with his latest victory being in his toughest company to date.

Trainer Trevor Bailey will take aim at the upcoming Flemington carnival and in particular a race down the straight on Melbourne Cup day for the four-year-old gelding.

Partnered by leading Melbourne jockey Craig Williams, Faster Son was awkwardly away at barrier rise, but Williams did not panic and the Gold Coast gelding quickly mustered speed to race through along the inside of runners to take up the early running.

Outright favourite for the event was Uxorious for Warrnambool trainer Matthew Williams.

Jumping from barrier twelve, jockey Dean Yendall was clear with his intentions early as he sent the son of Choisir up to sit five horses off the fence, outside the leader, Faster Son.

The favourite duo paired off rounding the home turn with Uxorious striding a half-length in front of Faster Son in the early part of the straight.

But Craig Williams was only kidding on Faster Son, as he allowed the gelding time to work through his gears before pushing the go button.

Faster Son reclaimed the lead inside the 250 metre mark and hard up against the inside running rail the Gold Coast sprinter put a gap on his rivals of over two lengths beyond the furlong.

Williams kept the bay going and the pair scored a comfortable two and a quarter length win over Launay with a further length and three quarters back to the favourite Uxorious in third.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Trevor Bailey: “He's done a few things wrong and at the end of the day and he's got away with it.

“It's hard not to think about when he puts it all together … he's going to be hard to beat in a good race.

“He has started slow like that before in the past. It is a little trait of his. He didn't do it at Sandown (last start), but he has done it before.

“I think you'll remember the mare (Sonata). She handled the wet too.

“He's getting better on the rain affected tracks now he's had a couple of goes at it. She (Sonata) was placed in the Oaks, so he's got a little bit of bloodline there to say he'll get a bit further too.

“He's doing everything we've asked of him so far so we'll sit down and work out where we go with him now.

“You'd like to think that there's a suitable Flemington Cup Week target, but we'll just sit down and wait.”

Jockey Craig Williams: “I've only ridden him twice and basically he jumped really well (last start). Trevor (Bailey) said ‘you've got to be really positive getting him out of the machine.’

“Today he half-reared at the start so he was slow out, but I didn't have to chase him up which was really good.

“He just got into his rhythm and I was just that confident around the turn. It didn't matter what part of the race it was, I just wanted to sit with him and nurse him.

“Trevor's done a great job with the horse.

“The horse is still all legs, but it's amazing how he's come from a Sandown midweek race where he was too fresh, too keen and pulled up really big, and today he had to step up to it and he did. His gallop is getting a lot better. It's getting a lot lower.

“We committed to Trevor's horse after we won and when Matthew (Williams, trainer of Uxorious) went this way we didn't have much of a choice.

“We'd already hand-picked ourselves into this horse and it was a bit of a shame. My agent does a really good job, he plans ahead…..Mark Guest has done a good job once again.

“I said to Trevor, we don't have a much of a choice (about on which part of the track he would be) because he hangs in in Melbourne, which is rare for a Queensland horse.

“All I said was that it's a lot better in your mind that the last winner (I'm Imposing) made his run alongside the inside then came out.

“We probably wouldn't have had much of a choice with him anyway because if the fence was off more than likely it takes his chance away.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Faster Son): 3.00 out to 4.60.
Favourite (Uxorious) 3.50 in to 3.00. Finished third.

Horse to follow: Faster Son continues to rise through the grades at a rapid rate. Jockey Craig Williams showed a tremendous amount of confidence in the horse when the pair were clearly headed rounding the home turn. Has only been beaten once in seven starts - that is a statistic of a good horse.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Stewards acceded to requests from trainers Mr R Griffiths, Mr M Young and Mr M Ellerton to withdraw Cocinero, Anteros (GER) and Wild One.

Faster Son jumped awkwardly.

On jumping Ahdashim (NZ) shifted out and made contact with El Mandon.

Near the 1100m El Mandon was tightened for room between Ahdashim (NZ) and Latin News which shifted in slightly.

Near the 900m Acquired (NZ) shifted in taking Launay in onto the hindquarter of At The Heads (NZ) resulting in At The Heads (NZ) becoming unbalanced.

S Arnold could offer no explanation for the disappointing performance of Latin News but did advise that the horse was under pressure from the 300m.

M Rodd rider of Acquired (NZ) which was eased down in the straight advised that the mare did not handle today’s track conditions. A subsequent veterinary examination of Acquired (NZ) revealed no abnormalities.

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