GCTC JUL 01 - A LOT OF FAITH PAYS DIVIDENDS

By Matthew Grimson | Friday, July 3, 2009

Gold Coast, July 1, 2009.
Class 2 Handicap - 1800m. Time: 1-55.64.
Track - Slow 6. Rail - True.
1 A Lot Of Faith; 2 Jouer Le Jeu; 3 Ten Coronas

The race plan for the Tony Gollan trained A Lot Of Faith was executed perfectly by jockey Michal Cahill who got the chestnut gelding home under an inch perfect ride to outgun the favourite Jouer Le Jeu in a hard-fought battle to the line.

Both of these runners were produced from off the speed, wide out on the track, and both hit the line hard after the strong early pace of the initial front-runner Loaded Tycoon had set the race up for the swoopers.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Tony Gollan: “We always wanted to get him to this distance, this is his caper. We put him out between August last year and May. We just wanted to give him a spell and then we brought him back again. This is his fourth run back and his second win-in-a-row.

“We’re really happy with him. We thought he might be able to make a horse over distance this preparation and so far he’s going good. We’ll just keep him around this distance or a bit further and see where he ends up. He hasn’t had a lot of racing. He could be a promising stayer but we’ll just see how we go.”

Jockey Michael Cahill: “It didn’t worry me when they went forward. I was happy that there was a bit of pace on. I was content to ride him a little bit patiently. From the 700m I started to go forward. He is a genuine staying type of horse so he was always a chance of picking them up.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Lot Of Faith): 11.00 out to 12.00.
Favourite (Jouer Le Jeu): 4.40 in to 3.50. Finished second.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Kinsmate (K. Banks) over-raced in the early stages and approaching the 1400m had to be steadied off the heels of Mrs Dittmier (App L. Rolls). Albuquerque (G. Colless) was caught wide in the early and middle stages. Irish Pub (D. Barron) was caught wide for the majority of the event.