GCTC JUL 01 - PRETTYEXPLOSIVE GETS HER DUE REWARD

By Matthew Grimson | Friday, July 3, 2009

Gold Coast, July 1, 2009.
Maiden Plate (Fillies & Mares - Set Weights) - 1400m. Time: 1-28.65.
Track - Slow 6. Rail - True.
1 Prettyexplosive; 2 Tell Jean; 3 Feher Arany

The Kevin Martin trained Prettyexplosive stepped up in distance for the third successive time here. Her form has gained momentum with each passing race in her four starts this prep and she got her due reward here when outlasting Tell Jean over the concluding stages.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Kevin Martin: “She got caught deep today (after jumping from the worst of the draw) but she boxed on well. She’s been racing well, and as she steps up in distance she’s getting better. The last race was just too short for her. She got home well but just got beat.

“We’ll just see how the races go as take them as they come. She might step up a bit further in distance, I’m not sure yet. We’ll see what the jockey (Anthony Merritt) has to say, but I think she might get a mile.”

Jockey Anthony Merritt: “We drew bad – drew the outside actually. We knew we were going to struggle to get in, but if we could get three deep with cover we would be happy. And that’s what happened, that’s what I got. We got a nice suck into it and she was the fittest horse on the day. She should be right over more distance.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Prettyexplosive): 9.00 steady.
Favourite (Jess Sar Belle): 3.00 in to 1.80. Withdrawn at the start.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Porte Triage and Jess Sar Belle were both declared late withdrawals at 12.16 p.m. by order of stewards acting on veterinary advice after Porte Triagebecame extremely fractious in the barriers and lashed out. Trainer of Porte Triage H. Norman was advised the mare must trial to the satisfaction of stewards before racing again. Tell Jean, Prettyexplosive (A. Merritt) and Hi Hatch (S. Galloway) all raced wide for the majority of the event.