TTC JUL 11 - HEY ELVIS COMES TO THE PARTY

By Graham Potter | Monday, July 13, 2009

Toowoomba, July 11, 2009.
Class 6 Plate - 1600m. Time: 1-39.59
Track - Cushion Track.
1 Hey Elvis; 2 Gold Rating; 3 Uncle Jan.

Toowoomba was ready to rock ‘n roll and Hey Elvis came to the party!

The Bruce Hill trained gelding wrote his name into the record books as the first winner on the Cushion Track at Toowoomba.

Hey Elvis settled fifth then sixth as Attackengo took the field down the back stretch. He improved onto the heels of the leaders, perfectly poised to strike, turning for home. The four-year-old did need a bit of luck in the running at the top of the straight but jockey Stathi Katsidis guided the gelding into the clear and he quickly moved up to join issue with Gold Rating who had taken over the lead from Attackengo.

For a moment it looked as if these two runners who battle it out all the way to the line, but Hey Elvis wasn’t about to let anyone else on centre-stage and he stretched out smartly over the final 100m to beat off the game challenge of the grey from the Michael Nolan stable.

Hey Elvis has now won five times and been placed second on five occasions from eighteen starts.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Bruce Hill: “First time on the Cushion Track, you know it is a bit new for horses that haven’t been there. It’s a bit different. He’s never had a go at it. It’s the first time he has seen it actually. Like, I was going to bring him up a bit earlier but things happened and I couldn’t, so it didn’t matter you know. We were just hoping.

“I guess he was the class horse in the race - and he had the best rider too (Stathi Katsidis), which helps. He gave him a beautiful ride. Was I confident? No, not really. You just don’t know. You really don’t know because it is something new to him.

“The carnival’s over but Sydney’s not far away. If everything’s good with him, maybe we will go back there.” (Hey Elvis finished second by a nostril in the Group 2 Villiers Stakes in his last visit to Randwick in December). He’s only had five runs this time in, so he hasn’t done a lot. They’ve been spaced out too.”

Jockey Stathi Katsidis: “First race ride on a Cushion Track anywhere, but I was lucky enough to have eleven trials here the other day. I was able to get a feel of it, but I think you just ride your horses as you would normally ... don’t change anything. Some of them are just going to take a little bit longer to pick up on it. That’s about the only difference.

“I had a nice horse (Hey Elvis) to kick me off. He probably should have had about 60kg in that race. It’s a Set Weights race and (trainer) Bruce Hill has placed him extremely well and I take my hat off to him.”

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Patties Mate, which sustained abrasions to the off-knee and off-fore fetlock when being transported to the track, was examined by the club's veterinary surgeon and cleared to race. Three Tenors (S. Apthorpe) was slow to begin. Leaving the 1400m, Three Tenors (S. Apthorpe) shifted out of its own accord and had to be steadied from the heels of Hey Elvis (S. Katsidis). Near the 1300m, Patties Mate (A. Merritt) had to be steadied from the heels of Gold Rating (L. Rolls), which was taken in by Attackengo (A. Pattillo). Mr Mayfair (P. Wolfgram) raced wide for the majority of the race.

When questioned regarding the seemingly disappointing performance of Armstrong Jones, B. Evans stated that the horse was under pressure from a point leaving the 700m and did not respond to his riding in the early stages of the straight and proved disappointing. A post race veterinary examination of Armstrong Jones failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.