BRC AUG 01 - SMOOTH VICTORY FOR LIGHT RED

By Matthew Grimson | Monday, August 3, 2009

Doomben, August 1, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - Out 4.5m.
C, G & E Class 6 Handicap - 1350m. Time: 1-18.93
1 Light Red; 2 On The Leather; 3 Five Ways.

A change of scenery can work wonders for a horse and when that horse has already showed reasonable potential, the chances are that punters should beware.

Such was the case with Light Red. The six-year-old was having his first run for the David Murphy stable since relocating from Sydney. The fact that he was roundly neglected in the betting came courtesy of a series of average runs in his latest prep (all on heavy or slow going), but there was a warning in the form-line - if you went back far enough.

In December 2008, Light Red had finished second, one length behind Vision And Power at Rosehill. A little over three months later, Vision and Power was a Group 1 winner. Light Red’s form had clearly dropped off that level of performance, but the underlying threat remained that, if he did race anywhere near his best, he could be a real chance.

That’s how things materialised in the race. Jockey Christian Reith always had Light Red travelling comfortably. They raced just off the speed before shifting out to challenge the frontrunners in the home straight where Light Red came home in confident fashion under an inch perfect ride from Reith t take the honours.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer David Murphy: “He hasn’t raced for six weeks. He has had a little niggly problem, but nothing we can’t handle. I’ve only had him for four weeks and I’ve done nothing with him. He’s got a lot of improvement in him. The race suited him too. There was plenty of pace on early. I put the blinkers on him for the first time because I find the Red Ransom’s ... they need blinkers. I was hoping for a good run. I thought he’d run a place, but I didn’t think he’d win like that.

“He’s coming good. I don’t really have anything in mind for him. There is a set weights race ... 1350m ... in three weeks time. A set weights Class 6 ... he’ll get half-a-kilo less. He’d be hard to beat then, you’d think. He should be hard to beat in that ... hopefully ... with a bit of luck!

Jockey Christian Reith: “We jumped him out about a week ago here at Doomben, just a half-mile jump out. He showed great pace then and we put the blinkers back on him because they took them of him down in Sydney. Murph (trainer David Murphy) just does a wonderful job with these horses and he said to me, a few weeks ago, he said I’ve got a couple there, and he said if you could come and help us out a little bit and get to know them, we might have some fun. You know, things are just starting to move now ... Armstrong Jones last week ... Light Red today.

“He’s got a lot of improvement in him and we knew that coming into today. He was beaten by a length by Vision And Power (a multiple Group 1 winner) back in Sydney, so when you hear of those horses coming up here ... it just goes to show.

“We had a beautiful run. The horse raced a little bit fresh and that was our only concern. He hasn’t raced for six weeks. Coming to the corner I had a lap full of horse and I was always confident. You know, when I let him go he just showed how quick he can sprint once he got on top of the ground. I was confident when we came around the corner there. When Three Swallows pushed out it gave me a beautiful passage through. The rest is history.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Light Red): 14.00 out to 17.00.
Favourite (Black Morgan): 2.10 out to 2.15. Finished ninth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Framous (J. Bowditch) was slow to begin. Five Ways (J. Byrne) and Kyros (M. Cahill) were tightened for room on jumping away between Three Swallows (M. Speers) and Beartracker (O. Turpin), which shifted in on jumping away. Three Swallows (M. Speers) laid in under pressure in the straight.

When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of Black Morgan, G. Colless stated that the horse began only fairly, however despite that he was able to take up a handy position with cover. He added that the gelding travelled comfortably and he endeavoured to improve his position around The Cavern Club from the 500m, however Black Morgan failed to accelerate and did not respond to his riding and only finished the race off moderately. Trainer B. Hill stated that in his opinion the horse performs best if able to lead or being positioned outside the leader. A post-race veterinary examination of Black Morgan failed to reveal any abnormalities.