DOOM OCT 03 - JOINT CHIEFS WINS ANOTHER BATTLE

By Matthew Grimson and Graham Potter | Monday, October 5, 2009

Doomben, October 3, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 6m.
Class 6 Handicap - 1020m. Time: 58.37.
1 Joint Chiefs; 2 Jad; 3 Overanxious.

The Joint Chiefs story just gets better and better.

Once a bolter, discarded by the Waterhouse stable, the rouge might not quite be a gentleman yet, but his results are starting to speak volumes both for his ability and for the expertise of trainer Brian Wakefield.

That’s four-in-a-row now for the four-year-old. It is not just the outcome, but the manner in which it is achieved that has caught the eye. Jockey Michael Cahill had the gelding in the second half of the field early. He was always saving ground though and was thus able to improve his position on the turn to move up to sixth place on straightening.

There was no straight line to victory. Twice Cahill had to switch Joint Chiefs out to create a winning passage. The second switch, coming at a vital time 180m out, was quite pronounced, but it had the desired effect as it got Joint Chiefs into clear running.

The acceleration was there so was the will to win. Joint Chiefs stretched out to join a line of runners spread right across the track at the 100m before asserting his authority when it mattered most to win with something to spare.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Brain Wakefield: “Yeah, he just... I am bit lost for words really, I didn’t expect him to win with the luck he was having up the running there. Everywhere he went there he just kept running up back-sides. But, there is no more patient rider than Michael Cahill and he obviously knew what he had underneath him and he got through at the right time. A very, very pleasing win.

“Probably the unknown thing with him was whether he would back up today. Going through the horse’s career he’s races have always been spaced apart, so that was the unknown with him today.

“On paper it looked like he was going to get a similar run to last week. He was probably just a little bit sort of dour today, if you could say that in a sprint race. But just with the back-up he might have just been looking for the six furlongs, you know. So all credit to the horse, he’s done a tremendous job.

“I still don’t think he knows what he is doing yet to tell you the truth. At the same time we have just got to take little steps with him because we’ve done a lot of work with him to get his head right. You know, we’ve just got to do the right things with him and hopefully take him in steps. He was a bolter.

“Mate, he is the loveliest horse and my kids go down and pat him and give him bits of liquorish and everything and he just loves it, you know. You’d think butter would melt in his mouth and we took him down to the beach the other day and you’d think he was an old trail horse the way he walks around, you know. He’s just got that little thing in his mind and, you know, it just takes a little bit of time to get it out. Hopefully he’s heading the right way.

“I think he is possibly a Winter Carnival horse, yeah. We’ll be guided by how he is going at the time, but I think if we just sort of look at the minor races and then just be guided by him. But like I said he is still learning, we don’t know what he’s got yet. We’ll keep him going. We’ll just look for the right races. I think we’ll probably look for a six furlong race for him now.

“He’s a horse that we can probably keep him a bit fresh now. We’ll plan ahead our program with him and be guided by how he pulls up. You know, he’s backed up, so I think he deserves a little rest now. But in saying that it is a hot day today and it can sort of take a bit out of him so, like I say, we’ll just be guided by him.”

Jockey Michael Cahill: “He’s got potential. He’s second win at Caloundra he felt a nice horse. I must say he (Brian Wakefield) has done a good job with him. He is not an easy horse to do anything with. He just doesn’t come back. The 1000m is alright because there is speed on. His two runs at Coloundra were a bit hard, but he’s getting better all the time.

“He’s shown definite improvement. He is a different horse to when he first came. I think he bolted going to the barriers in his first start here (after transferring from Sydney). I wasn’t on him that day. The first time I rode him at Coloundra I had him led to the gates and you could really feel him. But he’s definitely got better and better. Not many get under Gai Waterhouse’s guard, but this might be one that has!

“He has done a good job the trainer. He’s really turned him around. He’s still got a bit of a way to go, but he’s definitely got him sort of straightened out a bit. I’d love to stick with him.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Joint Chiefs): 3.00 out to 3.10 in to 2.80.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Kelly reared as the start was effected and lost considerable ground. The connections of Kelly were advised that a warning was being placed on the gelding regarding its barrier manners.

At the start, Jad (P. Hammersley) shifted in, making contact with Esprit Lad (L. Rolls), which in turn shifted in and bumped Overanxious (J. Byrne).

Leaving the 900m, Jad (P. Hammersley) shifted in, making contact with the hind quarters of Esprit Lad (L. Rolls), resulting in Esprit Lad becoming unbalanced.

M. Cahill, rider of Joint Chiefs, was found guilty of a charge of careless riding, in that near the 200m he permitted his mount to shift out when insufficiently clear of Falco Star (C. McIver), which resulted in that horse having to be checked. M. Cahill was suspended from riding in races for a period covered by 6 meetings, to commence at midnight, 7 October and to expire at midnight, 15 October 2009. In assessing penalty, stewards took into account M. Cahill's good race riding record.

Esprit Lad (L. Rolls), Gorborchov (L. Cassidy), Overanxious (J. Byrne) and Lennon (B. Pengelly) all raced wide throughout. A post-race veterinary examination of Manners Please, which tired to finish last, failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.

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