SCST SEPT 27 - ARIZONA SUNSET SCORES TOUGH WIN

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Sunshine Coast, September 27, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 4m.
Class 1 Handicap - 1600m. Time: 1-37.34.
1 Arizona Sunset; 2 Hamatym; 3 Rhodes To Glory.

The Pat Duff trained Arizona Sunset scored a solid, grinding win after never being on the track at any stage of the contest.

Jumping from the number twelve barrier without showing much early speed, Arizona Sunset was back five wide in the second half of the field early on. There was a marginal improvement in position in the sweep to the turn where Arizona Sunset was still six wide on straightening. The up-side of that situation was Arizona Sunset now had a clear run to the line. The question was whether he could produce a finish of consequence after having a tough run in transit.

Hamatym was the first to try and make a winning break and he thus set the target Arizona Sunset had to try and shoot down ... and slowly, slowly Arizona Sunset started to reel in his rival. Despite a game effort by Hamatym to hold on to his advantage, Arizona Sunset kept coming and he got to the front when it mattered most to land the second win of his career.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Pat Duff: “He’s raced well. He’s got plenty of ability. He was probably a bit unlucky here the other day. It was a bit short for him ... the 1400m is a little bit short for him. He just got caught ... no fault of the rider, but he just got caught in there.

“Today, he’s a better horse three or four deep. He is a big, long striding fellow. I told her (Mandy Radecker) not to look for any runs. Just get out there where he had room. He is a big, long striding horse and he just kept finding.

“I think he is a horse that will go on further. His mother (Sunset) was a quite a handy race mare trained by Alan Bailey. She was a middle distance winner and he gives me the indication he will get over the trip too.”

Jockey Mandy Radecker: “I was wide from the draw and I wasn’t going to get in. It was just a case of having to keep him as relaxed as I could. The best part was I was able to put him to sleep, so although he was covering extra ground he wasn’t over-racing or anything like that.

“I was concerned the whole way, but the only thing I could do was just make sure he was as relaxed as possible and not using any extra energy ... and yeah, he kept coming in the straight.”

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Hamatym (J. Kropp) was inclined to over-race in the early and middle stages. Bradash (S. Kennedy) and Rhodes To Glory (V. Schubert) were caught three wide after the start and raced three wide for the majority of the event. Arizona Sunset (M. Radecker) was caught wide after the start and raced four wide for the majority of the event. Sisula (T. Pannell) was held up for clear running until after leaving the 200m.

Stewards questioned trainer C. Matthews and jockey T. Pannell in relation to T. Pannell's riding of Sisula, particularly over the final 600m. Trainer C. Matthews informed the inquiry that he had instructed jockey Pannell to position the horse mid-field and bring the horse to the outside in the straight. T. Pannell agreed with the instructions, however he stated that he could not obtain clear running in the early stages of the straight and near the 250m he was disappointed for a run between Bradash and Simple Stuff (M. Wood) and when the run did not eventuate he had to shift to the outside and when clear leaving the 200m the horse ran home well. After considering the evidence of both parties and viewing the film stewards accepted their explanations.