DOOM OCT 03 - COME SAID THE BOY LEADS THE WAY

By Matthew Grimson | Sunday, October 4, 2009

Doomben, October 3, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 6m.
1MW Handicap - 1200m. Time: 1-09.42.
1 Come Said The Boy; 2 Citiwyse; 3 Ulladulla.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Paul Nolan Jnr: “We gave him a bit of a chance because he actually ran third when Citiwise ran second here to Gag Order one day and we met it a couple kilos better terms . He was going to get a lovely run from the one-alley and he’d freshened up nice.

“Coming back in distance, freshened him up and dropping nicely in weight to 51½kgs ... that was the formula. He’s been carrying 57kg and was down here, dropping back to 51.5kg. It’s a big drop, you know. But he is a nice horse and he just hasn’t had a lot of luck. You’ve just got to wait your turn down here until the planets align and you get a chance.

“It’s good to win a Saturday race down here, considering we were thinking of spelling him after the run today. It pays a few bills I can tell you that.”

“He’s definitely not a mile-horse. I’d say possibly 1350m, but, really, it’s best to keep him nice and fresh and over 1200m, so why try and extend him too far. I just said to (jockey) Luke (Rolls) that he’s got enough speed to be just off the pace. The biggest thing he’s got to get is enough pace in his races and over the mile they just went a little bit slow for him.

“We brought him back in distance from the mile because he didn’t run it out at all last time. He had every possible chance to run it at Toowoomba and he just ... he ran the mile quite out quite good here (at Doomben) once before ... he only got beaten a length, but up the hill (at Toowoomba) he couldn’t run it. So, yeah, we just freshened him up and dropped a heap in weight. The drop in weight from 57kg down to 51.5kg made all the difference.

“I got him in Melbourne for $22,000. I love that breed (El Moxie). They’ve been good to me. Manic Monday, This Too Shall Pass, So Shall This has even won a few races. They’ve all paid their purchase price anyway.”

Jockey Luke Rolls: “He had no weight on his back today which really helped him finish off. Yeah, we ended up getting a nice run just behind the leaders and I was able to get just one off the fence and then peel out three wide and when he let down he really let down.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Come Said The Boy): 10.00 out to 12.00 in to 11.00.
Favourite (Citiwyse): 2.25 out to 2.50. Finished second.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Bazzooka (M. Speers) jumped away awkwardly. Come Said The Boy (L. Rolls) laid in over the concluding stages. What A Tale (C. McIver) raced three wide throughout.

Stewards sought an explanation from jockey C. Reith in regards to the tactics employed on Kings Course. C. Reith stated that he had been instructed to attempt to obtain cover, however if the horse commenced to over-race he should let it travel up into a prominent position. He added that Kings Course began very well and after taking up a forward position outside Bazzooka, it commenced to over-race. C. Reith further added that when Kings Course raced a neck in advance of Bazzooka it relaxed, and he felt it would be to the horse's detriment to attempt to restrain the gelding.

Stewards questioned L. Cassidy, rider of Citiwyse, as to his apparent failure to take up a position behind My First Affair (J. Byrne) one off the fence near the 800m. L. Cassidy stated that his mount travelled comfortably three wide with cover behind What A Tale (C. McIver) and he did not feel it was an option to restrain the horse in an endeavour to take up a position one off the fence. He added that, in his experience, Citiwyse had a tendency to over-race when restrained, which he explained was something he had to take into account when considering this option.

When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of My First Affair, J. Byrne stated that the mare did not travel at any stage during the event and he was constantly urging his mount forward in order to hold a position in the race. J. Byrne added that My First Affair was making an abnormal respiratory noise during the course of the race. Trainer M. Thexton was unable to offer any explanation for the performance of the mare, adding that she has arranged to have her veterinary surgeon examine and perform an endoscopic examination on My First Affair when it returned to her stables today and that she would notify the stewards of the results of such examination. A post-race veterinary examination of My First Affair failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.