DOOM OCT 03 - TARRAYOUKYAN SEES OFF MYSTIC VIBE

By Matthew Grimson | Sunday, October 4, 2009

Doomben, October 3, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 6m.
NMW Handicap - 1640m. 1-38.63.
1 Tarrayoukyan; 2 Mystic Vibe; 3 Our Scooby Doo.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Lawrie Mayfield-Smith: “He’s been racing well without luck. He is a horse that needs cover. In his last couple of starts he’s sort of got caught out on a limb and he just pulls himself into the ground. So with the alley and Stathi (Katsidis) on ... nothing against the previous rider ... but, you know, he was a big chance of getting cover and he’d be up on the pace. It looks like an on-pace track and Stathi’s taken off when it did which was obviously the right thing to do.

“It wasn’t a part of the plan, no. We just wanted to be there and, you know, to be honest I would have been a bit more conservative because he hadn’t raced for so long. He was in that dust meeting that they called off so he didn’t work that morning. He’s missed a day there, so I had to stack a bit extra into him. But to the horses credit if there was going to be a weakness it would have come out today, but he just kept fighting.

“He hasn’t had a lot of racing. He was lightly raced, that’s probably why we got him. Down in Melbourne it just looked like he wouldn’t measure up, but he’ll do the job here. His biggest problem is that if he gets out on a limb he pulls like a train and just pulls himself into the ground. That’s what happened last time. Stathi just got him cover and he was right.”

Jockey Stathi Katsidis: “Yeah I had to go really before I wanted to. They sort of slowed up. They went really quick for a bit and then they slow for a bit. The winners seem to be winning on-pace here today so I got him up there. I could give him a rest for only about 150m and then he’s had to go again so I was a little bit worried because of the long time between runs, but Lawrie is training his horses exceptionally at the moment. His foreman and all the staff there are doing a great job so hats off to them. I had to ride him a little bit unorthodox, but he was fit enough to do it.

“He pulled a bit hard the last time I rode him (two runs back at Doomben when finishing third behind Baquaba) and I suggested that they take the blinkers off and he relaxed beautifully today.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Tarrayoukyan): 3.80 out to 3.90.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Leaving the 600m, Sirena Ligera (M. Speers) had to be steadied when forced to race in restricted room between Silent Movie (C. Reith) and Tarrayoukyan (S. Katsidis), which shifted in. S. Katsidis, rider of Tarrayoukyan, was reprimanded.

Leaving the 150m, Mystic Vibe (L. Rolls) shifted out to obtain clear running and in doing so made contact with Our Scooby Doo (A. Pattillo). Our Scooby Doo then commenced to lay in and had to be steadied from the heels of Mystic Vibe (L. Rolls). Our Scooby Doo continued to lay in for the remainder of the event. Bearhart Gold (J. Bowditch) raced three deep throughout.

D. Brown, rider of Crowning Force, reported that on several occasions in the straight he had difficulty securing clear running and once clear the horse finished the race off well.

When questioned regarding the seemingly disappointing performance of Sirena Ligera, M. Speers stated that the horse travelled well, however after receiving tightening leaving the 600m, Sirena Ligera commenced to tire considerably. Trainer's representative Mrs S. Thomson indicated that the mare was small in stature and believed that the interference suffered by Sirena Ligera had a major affect on its performance today. A post-race veterinary examination of Sirena Ligera failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.