SCST SEPT 20 - EARLY EFFORT SETS UP WIN FOR KNIGHTRIDER

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Sunshine Coast, September 20, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 2m.
Maiden Plate (Set Weights) - 1200m. Time: 1-12.85.
1 Knightrider; 2 I'montop; 3 Shrewd Hostess.

The Jason Dittman trained Knightrider had picked up a cheque in his last three starts at this track and he took home first prize this time when lasting just long enough to thwart the challenges of I’montop and Shrewd Hostess.

The chestnut was entitled to be feeling the pinch in the closing stages as he had put in a stout early effort which set up the victory. The four-year-old landed just off the speed and jockey Michael Cahill wasted little time in pushing the gelding up on the rail to secure the lead. Cahill then allowed Knightrider to gallop freely and he cornered with a healthy three length lead.

I’montop emerged out of the pack as the major threat and, in a long chase home, I’montop got within half-a-length of the winner at the line, but Knightrider had prevailed to claim the honours and put a first win behind his name.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Jason Dittman: “Yeah, he’s been consistent. We’ve just had a few niggling problems, but finally, hopefully, we’ve got it right. We did bring him back in distance. Last time I backed him up (when stepping up the distance test from 1200m to 1400m) and I think he just didn’t handle the 1400m, so yeah, we came back to the 1200.

“The game-plan was to lead. You’ve got to be aggressive on him because he is a bit of a lazy bugger. So that’s the way we planned it and thankfully he had enough gas left in the tank to finish off.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Knightrider): 3.00 steady.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Le Jeduma (D. Griffin) was slow to begin. Carrasco (J. Taylor) hung in in the early stages.

Approaching the 600m, Lightning Flash (C. McIver), which was over-racing, had to be eased to avoid the heels of Corsa Cavallo (M. Wood), which shifted in when not fully clear. M. Wood, rider of Corsa Cavallo, was reprimanded and advised to exercise greater care when shifting ground in future. Apprentice C. McIver, rider of Lightning Flash, was reprimanded for the standard of evidence he provided.

Near the 300m, Midnight Passion (K. Pope) shifted out abruptly under pressure. Mr Balanchine (S. Kennedy) raced wide without cover, and Legal Street (K. Sawyers) also raced wide for a major portion of the race. Jockey K. Pope reported that Midnight Passion did not feel comfortable in its action over the final 200m, however there appeared to be nothing amiss with the mare on return to scale.

A post-race veterinary examination of Le Jeduma revealed the horse to be distressed and had a slower than normal recovery rate. A post-race veterinary examination of Zingalo failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.

After riding in this event, D. Craven was examined by the club's doctor and stood down from his remaining engagements in race 5 and race 7.