BRC AUG 12 - COURT COMMAND A CLASS ABOVE THE REST

By Graham Potter | Thursday, August 13, 2009

A lot of good horses pass through the hands of Liam Birchley and it takes a special performance to get the trainer excited. Court Command produced just such an effort at Eagle Farm.

The hype was not about a big win against tough opposition. That was simply not the case in this instance. Court Command clearly had the superior form and looked to be a class above his rivals. The thought was that even at the weights, where he gave the opposition between 3.5kg and 7.5kg, Court Command would trounce his opposition - at what appeared to be generous odds of 2.40.

He did so with the expected contemptuous ease and it was the display of a horse brimming with talent, confidence and well-being that excited the senses and had the sights being reset on targets in Sydney and Melbourne.

For all his obvious delight, Birchley never gets ahead of himself though and there were no predictions of what might happen in the six-year-old’s future campaign down south. Just that he would be taking on that challenge and that Birchley clearly could not be happier with Court Command’s condition after his first-up win in this latest preparation.

Eagle Farm, August 12, 2009.
Quality Handicap - 1300m. Time: 1-16.83.
Track - Good 3. Rail out 4m.
1 Court Command; 2 Sommersea Drive; 3 German Chocolate

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Liam Birchley: “Yeah, he’s a freak of a horse and to win a race like that the way he did it ... without a trial ... with that weight, you know, he is obviously very, very good.

“Possibly he’ll go to the Warwick Stakes in Sydney on Saturday week. There is an option in Melbourne, but we are just sort of watching the tracks and weather and speed in the races, so that’s basically it. He probably could have won it a bit easier today, but he raced a bit fresh early, you know.

“You never know for sure what to expect, but he was going better then he was last time leading into the race. He’s nearly another Vo Rogue. That’s the best horse I’ve ever seen naturally talented, I think. He’s that style of horse. He’s just got that cruising speed and if he is anywhere near him obviously he’ll win his share of races."

Jockey Damien Browne: “He just wanted to get going a little bit early, you know. Probably a little bit on the fresh side. He come back to me across the top. He’s a class horse, he was always travelling well. He travelled really well all the way through. He seems to have come back really well this time. He felt a million dollars today. Obviously there is good improvement there. You always worry a little bit about weight, but at the end of the day he is a class horse and class horses have to carry that sort of weight. I’d like to stay with him but that is entirely up to the owners and Liam (Birchley) mate, but I’d love to, yeah.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Court Command): 2.10 out to 2.40.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Morning Colours (S. Galloway) was slow to begin. Leaving the 700m, Cocktail Supreme (K. Pope) raced ungenerously at the heels of German Chocolate (G. Colless) and had to be restrained by its rider.