BRC JUL 04 - CHANGE OF FORTUNE FOR EIRE OF MAGIC

By Matthew Grimson | Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Eagle Farm, July 4, 2009.
Class 6 Plate - 1200m. Time: 1-12.40
Track - Dead 4. Rail - True.
1 Eire Of Magic; 2 Mohawk; 3 Black Morgan.

The David Kelly trained Eire Of Magic landed an overdue win when he stormed down the outside of the track to take out the last race at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

The six-year-old had placed three times in the four starts since his last win prior to this outing and it looked like he might again have to settle for a consolation prize when he was caught wide all the way to the turn. At the top of the straight, Eire Of Magic was third last, still very wide and a couple of runners ahead of him were threatening to block his path to glory.

Credit apprentice jockey Luke Rolls with a cool head. He extricated Eire Of Magic from that predicament, pulled the chestnut right to the outside and set sail for home. Free to run his own race, Eire Of Magic’s response left little doubt that he was the best horse in the race as he reeled in the opposition in measured fashion to win going away by 2.30 lengths.

This was Eire of Magic’s seventh career success in thirty-one starts. He also has eleven minor placings to his credit

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer David Kelly: “Let’s just say he’s been unlucky. He’s been unlucky mate, he probably should have won three straight, but he just had no luck. But today he let down beautiful. We were quietly confident. I think he is a 1200m horse, where there is a lot of speed on and he can let right down, so, yeah ... very happy. We are going to go to the Grafton Ramornie if we can get a run. If not we’ll just set him for another race up here. But Grafton is my home town so I would like to go down there and have a crack at it.

Jockey Luke Rolls: “Yeah, he’s got a big finish. Today we drew wide and we sort of wanted to go more forward than I ended up, but I just got caught four and five deep. I just came back to where he was travelling nicely to see if he would get a nice run behind them and hit the line. The track has been playing great out wide all day. That’s where all the winners have been coming from and that’s where we got too.

“The horse has got a real habit of just laying in and it probably cost him the race the last time I rode it (three runs back when second behind Hodges Street). Today he had the one-eyed blinker on and I just straightened him up a wee bit and he went one better. Yeah, I’ll probably stick with the horse. If he goes to Grafton I’ll be going down there with him.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Eire Of Magic): 6.00 out to 7.00.
Favourite (Overanxious): 4.80 in to 4.20. Finished ninth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Feline Hunter was a late scratching at 4.27 p.m. when no rider was available. Approaching the 1100m Release Me, which had commenced to race ungenerously, had to be steadied from the heels of Lady Showheart when that horse was taken in by Rapid Babe. Rapid Babe, Firedrake and Lady Showheart raced wide for the majority of the event.

Leaving the 1000m Overanxious, which was over-racing, shifted out and had to be checked off the heels of Mohawk, which had been momentarily tightened by Come Said The Boy. Near the 200m Paymore had to be checked when tightened for room between Release Me, which shifted out slightly, and Come Said The Boy, which was taken in by Three Swallows, which shifted in and away from Mohawk after being initially taken in by that horse. In the circumstances stewards took no further action.

The veterinary surgeon reported that Come Said The Boy was exhibiting an abnormal respiratory noise following the event. Trainer P. Nolan was advised that he must produce the results of an endoscopic examination before the horse's next start.