EF NOV 27 - SPECHENKA CONTINUES TO IMPRESS

By Graham Potter | Monday, November 29, 2010

Eagle Farm, November 27, 2010.
Track - Good. Rail - out 2.5m. Penetrometer - 5.
Open Handicap - 2200m.
Time: 2-16.25. Last 600: 37.31. (Carrying 57.5kg).
1 Spechenka; 2 Eureka; 3 Patmoss.

Take a runner who has shown good promise outside of the city. Give him time to find his feet and learn his trade. Gradually let him develop maturity-wise while building up his fitness. Choose the right moment to step him up to a distance where he will thrive and … hey Spechenka … you’ve got yourself a racehorse!

Obviously it’s not quite that simple. There is no magic formula to getting the best out of a horse, just a lot of hard work and even more patience.

Full credit then to trainer Ben Ahrens and his team for what they have achieved with the five-year-old gelding Spechenka who simply toyed with his rivals when completing a hat trick of wins at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

Relaxed at the rear of the field until asked to go by jockey Jim Byrne, the son of Danachenka quickly put the issue beyond doubt in the home straight, establishing his authority to such a degree that Byrne was able to stand up over the concluding stages and enjoy the cruise to the line.

It has taken a while, but Spechenka has now come a long way since scoring his Maiden win over 1400m at Beaudesert in June last year. That win came in his third start of his first preparation.

Spechenka’s second win came first-up, again at Beaudesert, again over 1400m on Decemeber 5, 2009. That result was part of an extended, eleven-race, second preparation for Spechenka during which time he added a further four wins to his resume (over distances ranging from 1710m to 2200m at tracks as diverse as Ipswich, Gold Coast and Toowoomba).

That meant that when Spechenka went to the paddock in May 2010 at the end of his second preparation he was a six time winner from only fifteen starts.

He had put his hoof in the water in city company on three occasions up until then (a close up second being Tripitz being his best result) and when he returned after a little over a three month spell, a city win would be the target and the benchmark on which to mark the progress of the maturing five-year-old.

It took five runs for Spechenka to land that breakthrough city win … but then again, that was just a case of patience being a virtue as Ahrens allowed Spechenka to slowly build up in distance … from 1200, to 1350, to 1600 and then back to 1500m … before making his play and stepping Spechenka up to 2030m.

Spechenka won that race (beating subsequent winner Raeburn). Two weeks later he made it two-in-a-row when beating Beartracker by 2.50 lengths over 2400m before scoring just as impressive a win on Saturday (beating the more-than-useful stayer Eureka by 2.00 lengths when handling a big hike at the weights with aplomb) to complete the hat trick.

With Spechenka on a roll and clearly enjoying his work, Ahrens is now eyeing a race in Sydney. That will be a new test all over again, but nobody can argue with the way the horse is travelling at the moment.

Four wins in a row looms as a distinct possibility.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Ben Ahrens: “Everything we ask him to do at the moment he is doing.

“We won’t ask him to do too much more. He is a great horse to train. He loves the work … eats up. Everything is going well.

“That turn of foot he is showing now is probably something he has developed as he has got older. It was something he didn’t have a great deal of before but, yeah, with racing experience he has learnt to hit the line really well.

“Most likely he will go to Sydney now. We’ve still got to sort out the logistics of doing that.

“It may be a little bit difficult with him. He is a quirky sort of horse. He is not the greatest traveller and it’s hard to keep him in a box … he kicks the walls down.

“We’ll probably have to find somewhere on the edge of the town or something like that to keep him happy when he goes down south … or float him down close to the race … keep him up here and only float him down close to race-day.”

Jockey Jim Byrne: “You know what … he is a really nice stayer. He’s got good staying qualities. Nothing much bothers him in a race.

“When you do start to switch him on he is basically primed to let down. He shows a nice turn of foot which is a nice quality for a stayer to have.

“I think he can be set for better quality races. He went up 4.5kg from his win last start and he handled it with ease today.

“Obviously he still has to take the next step, but I believe he’s got the qualifications and the ability to do so.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Spechenka): 1.90 out to 2.10.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Rounding the first turn, Moon Chaser (K. Wharton) shifted in and bumped Patmoss (J. Taylor). Following this, Patmoss over-raced for some distance.

Eureka (L. Cassidy) over-raced in the early stages.

Rounding the home turn and in the early part of the home straight, Eureka was held up and unable to improve.

Patmoss was held up and unable to obtain clear running in the early part of the straight, and near the 300m, Moon Chaser (K. Wharton) shifted in and brushed Warringah (C. Munce), which was turned in on to Patmoss.

Patmoss then was obliged to alter course to the inside of Beartracker (B. Stewart) in order to improve.

Jockey C. Munce was asked to explain the performance of Warringah. He explained that the gelding travelled well, however did not respond to his riding upon entering the home straight and, in his view, may be better suited dropping back in class.

A post race veterinary examination of Warringah failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.

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