TWO WEEK BACK-UP DOES THE TRICK FOR SIR KINGSFORD

By Graham Potter | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Doomben - Class 6 (Set weights) - 1600m. Time: 1-36.77. Track: Good 3. Rail: True.
1 - Sir Kingsford; 2 - Little Stranger; 3 - Pit Lane.

Sir Kingsford lay just off the speed, cramped for galloping room on the inside for much of the running. Larry Cassidy rallied the gelding halfway up the straight and the six-year-old extended to join Little Stanger (Brent Evans) in a stride for stride chase which took the duo past the frontrunners and on to a two-way head-bobbing finish. The decision went Sir Kingsford’s way by a nose. Pit Lane (Jim Byrne) finished third.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Len Bryant: “I do feel sorry for Danny Craven (who rode the horse last time). I’d never met Larry (Cassidy) before, but most of those top jockeys are all bloody good fellas, professional people to talk too. This is the first time I’ve ever had a chance to start the horse a fortnight apart and step him up in distance. Every time I’ve tried to do it before he’s run into wet tracks and I’d bloody have to go a month between runs. I still think he could handle a dead track, but (jockey) Ronnie Goltz’s assumption ... a good while back ... was that he couldn’t handle the wet over at Eagle Farm one day and up until now he hasn’t had a strong enough constitution to start him on the wet, because it would knock him around. It was just better to wait for another day, you know. We’ll just potter along. There is another mile race in a fortnight. We’ll go there.”

Jockey Larry Cassidy: “It was my first ride on the horse. It is a lovely horse. If we got beat we would have been a good thing beat. I was able to sneak up inside runs and got the split at the right time. He showed plenty of tenacity. I thought I got up on the line.”

The margin of victory was a nose – Sir Kingsford scoring by the minimum distance over the Michael Nolan trained Little Stranger, who was ridden by Brent Evans.
Larry Cassidy: “I’ve been plagued by Brent Evens and his three kilo claim. He’s beaten me so many ... he’s beaten me ten times I reckon, with me riding top weights and him having a claim. He’s down to two kilo’s and the tide has turned.”

When asked what might be his best ride for the remainder of the day Cassidy replied, “Possible the last (on She’s In The Guide in the Doomben Dash). So hopefully it will be the bookends.”

Cassidy wasn’t wrong, although his brother Jim, riding Mr Slick, did try to spoil the party. In the final race on the card She’s In The Guide got home by a little under a quarter-of-a-length to see off her faster finishing rival to give Larry Cassidy the bookend victories he had predicted.

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Sir Kingsford): 8.00 out to 10.00.
Favourite (Hume): 4.00 out to 4.20. Finished fifth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Prior to the declaration of correct weight J. Byrne (Pit Lane), 4th placegetter, sought permission to view the official video films as he considered there may have been grounds to formally lodge a protest on behalf of connections of Pit Lane. After seeing the available films, J. Byrne did formally lodge a protest against Our Lukas being declared 3rd, alleging interference in the straight. After taking evidence from all parties concerned and viewing the available videos, the stewards formed the view that at about the 200m Our Lukas shifted in and made contact with Pit Lane and again at about the 100m shifted in, bumped Pit Lane and carried it from the running to which it was rightfully entitled. Bearing in mind the nose margin at the finish, the stewards were comfortably satisfied that had the crowding to Pit Lane not occurred it would have finished in front of Our Lukas and therefore the protest was upheld and placings were amended

S. Galloway (Hume) explained that he enjoyed a nice run in the race in the early stages behind Regal Gaze, but when the pace momentarily steadied at about the 700m Regal Gaze became unbalanced in front of him and as a consequence he had to steady Hume and momentarily lost his position. He said shortly after when the pace went on he was able to obtain a run through but he thought the incident in the middle stages probably cost him the race today.

PREVIOUS COMMENTS ON HORSERACINGONLY (HRO) REGARDING WINNER:
Trainer Len Bryant (speaking after Sir Kingsford’s previous win on January 31, 2009): “He’s had a lot of problems, but he just keeps going forward now. He had tendon trouble early. We had to give him ten months off. It’s never worried him since. Then he the EI real bad ... and, you know, just little things, like he’s had a haematoma on his hind-quarters for three months. It’s just healed now. He’s very susceptible to colds. You name it, he’s had it.”