EF AUG 19 - GENERAL SECRETARY’S STRONG FIRST-UP SHOWING

By Graham Potter | Friday, August 21, 2009

General Secretary scored a positive first-up win in only her second start when easily accounting for her opposition.

Jockey Christian Reith settled the Brett Baker trained runner in a fourth spot early on. The mare was always travelling comfortably as she tracked the short-priced favourite Too Cluie into the race. When the main fancy looked for a split on the inside but failed to quicken as anticipated and the frontrunners started to weaken, Reith switched his mount out into the clear and touched the accelerator. The response was instant and General Secretary quickly surged to the lead.

Reith kept riding to keep the inexperienced mare honest all the way to the line, but the race was won the moment General Secretary was given her head approaching the 200m mark.

Eagle Farm. August 19, 2009.
Track -Good 3. Rail - out 7m.
4yo & Up Maiden Handicap - 1000m. Time: 58.56.
1 General Secretary; 2 Red Raiders; 3 Count Fergus.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Brett Baker: “She bumped her leg after that first run (in January) and we decided to give her a bit of time. I picked her up from the Hayes stable. She’d only be trialled down there. He hadn’t started her. He said she wasn’t good enough for Group company, so they wanted to move her on.

“She’s been back in work for three months. She can run anything you like in trackwork. I’ve only got six in work, but there’s nothing I’ve got in the stable that can go with her. For me she is above average. For a big stable I suppose that’s not the case.

“I don’t come here (to town) very often. This is my second city winner. My first one (Red Felt) came about twelve months ago. I’ve got no particular plans for this one. I’ll just take a while to absorb this win first before I decide where we’ll go next.”

Jockey Christian Reith: “The horse did everything right. Travelled really well ... gave me a nice feel. She sprinted really well, especially off the fast pace. She let down really good. Probably the last 100 she felt the pinch and got a little bit tired, but she had her race won a long way out.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (General Secretary): 6.00 steady.
Favourite (Too Cluie): 1.50 out to 2.00 in to 1.90. Finished ninth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
March Rose (N. Thomas) jumped away awkwardly. Paris Label (L. Rolls) shifted out on jumping away, taking Nessun Dorma (J. Taylor) out on to Red Raiders (S. Katsidis), which in turn made contact with Flashing Flora (S. Bogenhuber).

Whilst stewards acknowledged that Flashing Flora had a tendency to lay out from the time it was placed under pressure in the straight, stewards nonetheless reminded S. Bogenhuber, rider of Flashing Flora, of her obligations to ride her mounts right out to the finish of the race. Mr P. Duff, trainer of Vezzali, which hung out throughout the event, undertook to trial the horse before the mare races again.

When questioned regarding the seemingly disappointing performance of Too Cluie, M. Hellyer stated that the horse travelled well and responded to his riding in the early stages of the straight, however the mare commenced to tire from the 200m and failed to respond to his riding thereafter. Apprentice Hellyer further added that he was concerned with the horse's action over the concluding stages. A post race veterinary examination of Too Cluie failed to reveal any significant abnormalities. A swab sample was taken from Too Cluie. Trainer B. Smith was advised that he would be required to provide a veterinary clearance for Too Cluie prior to its next race start.