BRC JUL 18 - DEACON GETS THE JOB DONE

By Matthew Grimson | Monday, July 20, 2009

Eagle Farm, July 18, 2009.
Class 6 Handicap - 2200m. Time: 2-18.24.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 7m.
1 Deacon; 2 Straight Edge; 3 Malandrina.

The David Murphy trained Deacon stepped up from 1800m to 2200m and outstayed his rivals under a determined ride from jockey Stathi Katsidis to edge out the game effort of Straight Edge over the final 50m.

Deacon hugged the rail early with Katsidis keeping the five-year-old in midfield until the field began to quicken approaching the turn where Katisidis gunned his mount past Bold Distinction, who was racing on his outside, and then angled Deacon across that runner to switch wider into clear running.

Straight Edge had a length-and-a-half on Deacon as the field stretched out at the head of the straight. The former strode to the lead and stayed on, maintaining a resolute gallop, and it took Deacon the whole length of the straight to run down Straight Edge, but the five-year-old stuck to his task and his perseverance paid off when he edged clear to win by a little under half-a-length.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer David Murphy: “I was just worried he might pull in the race. He might have gone a touch hard early ... but he won, mate. He got there. I don’t think he is going as good as he was last time, but he’s got some money back for the owners who have spent a lot of money on him. Everybody will be happy now.

“I might try to find a 2000m race for him ... 2000m might suit him better (this race was 2200m). Maybe with a touch more pace on. It’s up in the air whether he is a stayer or not. He was in good form last year. He got sick down in Melbourne. He has had one of those preparations this time where everything goes wrong and you’re always chasing your tail. It took me to mid-campaign to get him where I wanted him, but I missed out because of the tracks. It made no difference anyway. Hopefully we can find a nice race somewhere.”

Jockey Stathi Katsidis: “They said to ride him to get the journey. They wanted him to really stay the trip and when I let him go he sprinted so quickly that I hit the front probably too soon on him. Happy with the win and, yeah, a good training effort too, as well.

“I think he is probably better at a mile ... 1800m. Because today he was sort of pulling a little bit where he was when they hoped he might relax. I think he was lucky to win that 2000m race - he will win there, but I think he is better suited in the shorter ones.”

PRICE PLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Deacon): 3.50 out to 3.80.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
At the request of jockey S. Seamer, No Limitation was examined by the club's veterinary surgeon at the barriers. No Limitation was cleared to race. Kaycee’s Bid (S. Apthorpe) and Agent White (B. El-Issa) were slow to begin. Derry City (C. Reith) jumped away awkwardly. Latin Idol (C. McIver) was tightened for room between Man Of Class (J. Taylor) and Bold Distinction (M. Speers), which shifted out on jumping away. Kaycee’s Bid (S. Apthorpe) over-raced in the early and middle stages. Latin Idol (C. McIver) commenced to over-race leaving the 1600m. Don’t Back Down (K. Pope), Raincoat (S. Galloway) and Hopeson (J. Bowditch) all raced wide in the middle stages. After passing the winning post, S. Apthorpe was dislodged from Kaycee’s Bid. Latin Idol lost its off-hind plate in running. A post race veterinary examination of Don’t Back Down (K. Pope) revealed the gelding to be suffering from thumps.