FLEM NOV 02 - STIRLING WIN FOR JOLLY GALLOPER

By Taron Clarke | Thursday, November 4, 2010

Flemington, November 2, 2010.
Track - Slow 6. Rail - Out 3m. Penetrometer: 4.83.
Schweppes Tonic 1000 (Listed) 3YO Open SW+P - 1000m.
Time: 57.59. 600m Sectional: 33.79. (Carrying 57.5kg).
1 Stirling Grove; 2 Belfast Boy; 3 Marmaa.
Margins: 2.3L x 1.7L

Morphettville trainer Richard Jolly produced the very impressive Stirling Grove to score a scintillating win in the Listed Schweppes Tonic 1000 over the straight Flemington 1000 metres.

The win gave jockey Craig Williams the third leg of a winning treble after earlier wins onboard Jersey Lily and Spectrolite.

Twelve months earlier Stirling Grove was a late scratching at the gates when he was a short priced favourite for the Listed Maribyrnong Plate.

Stirling Grove was a $50,000 yearling at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale in 2009 and trainer Richard Jolly will look to spell the son of Mossman over the summer months with a view to the riches of the Melbourne Autumn Carnival.

An explosive turn of foot saw Stirling Grove score by two and a quarter lengths over another Adelaide visitor Belfast Boy with a length and three quarters to David Hayes’ galloper Marmaa in third.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Richard Jolly: “He got scratched at the gates Emirates day last year when he was favourite in the Maribyrnong … so we're back here to do some damage.

“He's quite a good horse. He's probably underrated because he's come over here and hasn't done his best obviously, but Craig was amazingly confident before the race.

"So was I, but he gave me an extra bit of confidence the way he thought the horse would go.

“We took the blinkers off over in Adelaide when we stretched him out over a trip, but essentially I think he's a sprinter and a blinkers horse and we put them back on for this race.

“We wanted to get to Melbourne earlier, but he got a foot abscess which buggered all the plans up, so we were happy to get here today.

“He was only a fifty grand yearling and he's paid that back.

“There's probably not a lot for him, we'll probably put him away for the autumn I think.”

Jockey Craig Williams: “I was pretty excited going into Derby day, I thought I had a great book of rides and then the weather was going to be bad. I asked my wife to come she said she'd stay home because she didn't want to get wet.

“Mark Guest, my agent, said ‘I reckon you've got as good a book of rides on Tuesday, so you better get her to frock up and come out.’ I'm glad that my family and my wife are here today, which is great.

“Watching the tapes I was really excited to be on the horse the way that he's raced in Adelaide. He's just got something about him and when I rode him today he give me a feel of a really good horse.

“His acceleration was unbelievable … just the feel he gave me.

“It was nice that he was relaxed early, but when I asked him to go through his first two gears he just went whoosh and he's got qualities of a good horse.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Stirling Grove):3.00 onto 2.80 out to 3.30.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Spurcific was a late withdrawal at 8.50am on veterinary advice and trainer Mr R Griffiths will submit a veterinary certificate.

Stewards acceded to a request from trainer Mr M Hibbs to withdraw Light Express due to the downgrade of the track. Light Express was subsequently withdrawn at 12.00pm.

Season Of Fortune, which was slow away, then shifted in abruptly away from Cyndiana Star which also jumped awkwardly and shifted in.

B Rawiller rider of Season Of Fortune was fined the sum of $300 under the provisions of AR137A(5)(a)(ii) for using his whip seven times prior to the 100m.

M Walker (Sleepers) advised that the colt felt short in its action. A subsequent veterinary examination of Sleepers revealed no abnormalities.

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