EF FEB 02 - BULLET PROOF GETS UP IN THE FINAL STRIDE

By Graham Potter | Thursday, February 3, 2011

Eagle Farm, February 2, 2011.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 8m.
Class 4 Handicap - 1000m
1 Bullet Proof; 2 Falvelina; 3 Gallant Hawk.
Time: 56.88 (carrying 55.5kg). Last 600m: 33.66.
Margins: Half-head; 1.00.

Bullet Proof, racing first-up in his first outing for the Lindsay Gough stable, scored a last gasp victory when getting up in the final stride in a driving finish to snare the short-priced favourite Falvelina in the shadow of the post.

The six-year-old was claiming his fifth win from fifteen starts and both the keenness he showed fresh after a rest and the commitment he displayed in a pressurized finish suggest that he could be one for the notebook.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Lindsay Gough: “It was a good, solid effort. We gave him a jump-out here a couple of weeks ago and he went very well, but when John (Symons) and Sheila (Laxton) sent him up they said, don’t over-work him … just keep him fresh … and that’s just what we have done.

“He’s got a few little issues there, but we are doing our best to manage them.

“It was a pretty nice win to run her (Falvelina) down. She’s no pussycat and to run her down was a pretty positive effort.

“We’ll just pick our way along here. Take it one step at a time, I suppose.”

Jockey Shane Scriven: “Mate, he surprised me. I trialled him the other day. He trialled nice.

“When I let him go I thought it was all over, but he’s only got a short, sharp, little dash.

“The toppie (Falvelina, who Scriven was trying to reel in) is no slouch, you know. It did give him a good fight, but luckily we stuck our head out where it counted.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Bullet Proof): 5.00 out to 5.50.
Favourite (Falvelina): 1.60 in to 1.50. Finished second.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Ephraim Warrior (B. El-Issa) was slow to begin.

Beer Nuts (M. Palmer) jumped away awkwardly.

Centennial Son (S. Seamer) over-raced in the early stages and near the 700m had to be restrained to avoid the heels of Falvelina (S. Bogenhuber).

The Crusader (C. Munce) raced wide before weakening over the final 300m.

Falvelina lost its off-hind plate in running.

Following this event, C. Munce was examined by the doctor and stood down from his remaining engagements.

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