EF AUG 19 - LA MARIANNE FINDS FORM

By Graham Potter | Friday, August 21, 2009

Eagle Farm. August 19, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 7m.
Class 5 Handicap - 1835m. Time: 1-52.42.
1 La Marianne; 2 Chilled; 3 Our Mr Stilts.

The Alan Jones trained La Marianne ambushed punters when finding something like her form of old to upstage short-priced favourite Chilled, getting home in the last few strides.

La Marianne did have a poor barrier as an excuse last time, but the form displayed in her last two starts hardly inspired confidence and there was still no inkling that an upset was on the cards as the mare raced at the rear of the field in the early part as Our Mr Stilts pulled himself to the front (and kept pulling) while Chilled, who started at quite restrictive odds, settled confidently in second place.

La Marianne was still second last turning for home and Chilled was about to pull the trigger on Our Mr Stilts. It looked for all the world like Stathi Katsidis stalking tactics were about to pay dividends but, while Chilled did get the measure of Our Mr Stilts, he himself became the target for the faster finishing La Marianne, who had made up ground steadily once switched out wide at the top of the straight.

As Chilled came under pressure, La Marianne kept responding and the six-year-old snared the favourite in the shadow of the post to complete an upset victory.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Alan Jones: “I don’t think she tries very hard. We pulled the blinkers off ... it might have made a difference. The four she’s won, she hasn’t had blinkers on. This year it hasn’t raced well at all. Last year we thought it was a good filly. She is a full sister to De Gaulle Lane which won a Queensland Derby. We had hopes for her, but she has let us down. She has been very disappointing. This year she’s been very average.

“Last year we had problems. It had trouble with its legs. There was always something wrong with it, yet it raced really well. This year there has been nothing wrong with it ... without any result until now. I think perhaps the mile is its best distance. It is the first time it has won over this far.

“What are we going to do with her? Find the weakest race which pays the most money!"

Apprentice jockey Michael Hellyer: “It’s a relief to get the win. I’ve just had no luck today. I’m not feeling too good, but that cheered me up anyway.

“They took the blinkers off ... smart move. They tell me she is a mare that needs to be forward ... that she hates coming from behind. I’ll have to probably disagree with it after that. She settled well back there. They went hard early which probably suited my horse better.

“I got after her at the 600m and as soon as I gave her a slap on the shoulder she just grabbed the bit and started rolling around. I was pretty confident about a furlong out. I normally always pick four horses in the race that I’ve got an option to follow. In this race there was only one horse I wanted to look at and that was the favourite (Chilled). I never really got to follow it, but I was able to keep an eye on it and see where it was going. I was able to produce my one at the right time and we got there anyway.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (La Marianne): 11.00 steady.
Favourite (Chilled): 1.60 steady.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Eton Hall (L. Rolls) and Three Tenors (S. Apthorpe) were slow to begin.