FLEM OCT 30 - BRAZILIAN PULSE OVERCOMES TORRID RUN TO SCORE IN WAKEFUL

By Taron Clarke | Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Flemington, October 30, 2010.
Track - Good 3. Rail - True. Penetrometer: 4.58.
Wakeful Stakes (Group 2) 3YO Fillies SW+P- 2000m.
Time: 2-04.27. 600m Sectional: 34.57. (Carrying 53kg).
1 Brazilian Pulse; 2 Placement; 3 Heartsareforlove.
Margins: 1.3L x 0.1L.

Lightly raced filly Brazilian Pulse raced to the top of the VRC Oaks betting market with a tough, courageous victory in the Group 2 Wakeful Stakes over 2000 metres at Flemington on Saturday.

History tells us that the Wakeful winner has provided the VRC Oaks winner on thirty-three occasions with last year’s winner Faint Perfume being the most recent.

Brazilian Pulse has only had the five career starts and will now start the favourite in Thursday’s Oaks.

Trained by Mike Moroney, the daughter of Captain Rio has taken a meteoric rise to the top after winning a Ballarat Maiden on September 1.

The bay filly went on to win in mid-week metropolitan company and then placed in the Group 2 Manifold Stakes and the Group 1 Thousand Guineas.

By far her most impressive performance came in Saturday’s Wakeful Stakes when she was posted wide throughout, but still scored a convincing victory for jockey Craig Williams.

The win brought up a winning double for Williams after he won opening the event on Mr Chard for Dean Lawson.

Away well at barrier rise, Williams was careful not get the filly over-racing early as he looked to slot in and get some cover through the first 200 metres.

Very Cherry ran to the front upon settling down for jockey Blake Shinn. The pair showed out by two lengths to Zutara who raced on the outside of Placement.

Williams did not succeed in his endeavour to slot in one off the fence, and the Mike Moroney trained filly was caught three wide with no cover, four lengths off the leader.

The Wakeful field swung for home and the first into the straight was Very Cherry. Placement railed through to join Very Cherry shortly after balancing up.
Heartsareforlove joined in and on her outside was Brazilian Pulse.

Very Cherry gave in quickly inside the 300 metre pole and this left Heartsareforlove with a slender leader over Placement who continued to kick strongly on the fence.

Despite her wide trip in transit, Brazilian Pulse was still coming on the outside and ranged up to join Heartsareforlove at the 100 metre mark.

Over the final 75 metres Brazilian Pulse dug deep, as only good horses do, and she stretched the margin to score by a length and a quarter from Placement, who fought on strongly. There was only a nose back to Heartsareforlove in third.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Mike Moroney: “That was a game performance.

“It’s very hard to be caught that wide here, especially if you are three wide and facing the breeze. It’s a really good tough win.

“He (Craig Williams) never really asked her to go until the last 150, which is ideal for her.

“She’ll have to step up a gear (to run the 2500m in the Oaks), but the signs are there that she’ll get the distance.

“She’s just a lovely filly to train. Like I’ve trained a lot of good fillies and mares and a lot of them have got a lot of quirks and that. When she didn’t have many I was wondering if she was any good, but she is just a lovely, quiet filly. She’s got a great nature, but she is a tough filly.

“I'd be surprised if it (this run in the lead-up to the Oaks) does knock her out. She is just that sort filly. Nothing really worries her. She's casual on the track. Doesn't take a lot out of herself.

“You know, it is her first preparation. She had a couple of barrier trials in New Zealand as a late two-year-old then we put her aside and brought her across here.

“I know Paul (Moroney) said to me he thought she was a very good filly and we took his word for it and he's right because she's come across here and done it.

“Paul didn't pay much money for her. He actually saw her pretty early on. He rung me
up after he was doing his tour round the Waikato area. He saw her right from the word go and loved her. He was always going to buy her.

“This has been a great day for us. We've won Saab's and Derby’s and now this filly here so it's always been a good day to us.”

Jockey Craig Williams: “I rode her in her second start when she won at Sandown and I said, you’ve got a serious filly here.

“They already knew that … like I was only reiterating what everyone else had said.

“Today she didn’t get any favours. I got half the instructions right. They said, don’t lead … don’t go forward … give her room, but I don’t think they wanted to get three wide with no cover.

“We didn't have the best run … three-wide, no cover, just off the pace, but I was there and I just had to sit on her and trust her. I've got enough confidence in her that I just had to ride her where she was and just be patient.

“I’ve got so much respect for her and I know how much quality she’s got that we just had to time our run perfectly.

“I didn't want to go too early because she gets to the front and gets a bit lost and I just had to trust her.

“The last little bit, I was asking her for a little bit more than that. It was pretty good and great that she dug deep for me.

It's amazing isn't it? It doesn't matter what you do on the racetrack as long as you get them over the line.

“Looking forward to the Oaks on her.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Brazilian Pulse): 4.40 into 4.20 out to 4.40.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
After the running of Race 1 it was established with trainer Mr P Moody that Another Sunday would be ridden back today from its wide barrier and an announcement was made. Another Sunday was ridden accordingly.

After the running of Race 2 connections advised that if circumstances permit Brazilian Pulse (NZ) will be ridden mid-field today and an announcement was made. Brazilian Pulse (NZ) raced accordingly.

Heartsareforlove shifted in abruptly at the start tightening a number of runners, they being, Kittens, Maraaseem and Evidentia.Evidentia then made heavy contact with the hindquarters of Count Your Fingers.
Sasa jumped away awkwardly.

Approximately 100m after the start Dizlago, which was over-racing, had to be checked off the heels of Speed Of Dark.

Brazilian Pulse (NZ) raced wide without cover.

D Oliver (Dizlago) stated that his filly was disappointing and wasn’t suited by the slow tempo. A post race veterinary examination of Dizlago revealed no abnormalities.

S King (Zutara) explained that his mount jumped well from the wide barrier and to avoid covering excessive ground elected to go forward.

Trainer Mrs G Waterhouse confirmed the filly would now be spelled.

J Winks reported at scale that Shamrocker (NZ) may have injured itself when it jumped away awkwardly.

A subsequent veterinary examination of Shamrocker (NZ) revealed the filly had quartered a near-fore heel and sustained a puncture to its off-fore flexor.

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