DOOM OCT 03 - LA ZEEL RUNS THEM OFF THEIR FEET

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

Doomben, October 3, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 6m.
Fillies & Mares Handicap (Quality) - 1640m. Time: 1-37.40.
1 La Zeel; 2 Kentish Rose; 3 Malela.

The Les Kelly trained La Zeel showed her rivals a clean pair of heels in the straight to win as she liked by a clear-cut 2.30 length margin.

Jockey Damian Browne sent the six-year-old to the front early and the mare was kept company by Kentish Rose (in second place) at an easy tempo all the way to the turn. Browne had rated the leader perfectly and when he asked La Zeel to quicken at the top of the straight, she did so with meaning laying down the gauntlet to her rivals.

It was always going to be a difficult chase in the straight for those who had allowed La Zeel to dictate things to her advantage. Kentish Rose, the closest runner, couldn’t match the acceleration of La Zeel and, with no runner able to make any significant improvement from behind, La Zeel was able to bond home an easy winner.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Les Kelly: “Yeah, we were confident. We were sure we had her right. We told him (jockey Damian Browne) to lead today. We tried to settle her, but we had problems. She wanted to over-race, so her go is in front and that’s the way we went.

“After she raced up here we gave her nine days off in the paddock and we took her back and she was probably a bit underdone there (at Ballina in her last start). They really made it like 2000m race. They went berserk in front. She had the drop on them, but she didn’t have the condition to finish them off. But today she was one hundred percent spot on.

“We took the winkers off because we’ve actually been trying to get her to settle. She does go hard at times. By taking them off, you know, we thought... we trialled her without them. She trialled brilliantly at the Gold Coast. She won a 1000m barrier trail and, you know, that was a surprise to us all.”

Jockey Damian Browne: “She was strong from start to finish. Les (Kelly) was confident before the race. He said he had her spot on today and she got some pretty soft sectionals down the back and was able to quicken at the 600. She was always going to be hard to beat.

“I just had to dig up a little bit to hold the lead and thankfully Larry (Cassidy, the rider of Kentish Rose who tracked La Zeel in second spot) came back and we were able to get away with a couple of soft sectionals. Like I say, that sort of made the race for her.

“She was powerful to the line. I think she would be a mare that if you gave her too much she wouldn’t go any harder anyway. She tries pretty hard and it is just a matter of rating her nicely.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (La Zeel): 10.00 in to 8.50.
Favourite (Malela): 4.00 out to 4.20 in to 4.00. Finished third.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Papal Joy was declared a late scratching at 9.55 am on veterinary advice. Miss Reed (A. Pattillo) over-raced in the early and middle stages of the race. P. Hammersley reported that he was unable to obtain clear running on Used To Be A Dancer until inside the final 100m.

Jockey B. Pengelly, rider of Oh So Rosy, pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding in that approaching the 200m he permitted his mount to shift out under riding when insufficiently clear of Malela (J. Byrne), which resulted in J. Byrne, rider of Malela, having to take hold of that mare to avoid the heels of Oh So Rosy. B. Pengelly was suspended from riding in races for a period covered by 7 meetings, to commence at midnight, 3 October and to expire at midnight, 11 October.

When questioned regarding the performance of Linear, apprentice L. Rolls advised stewards that, in his opinion, the horse failed to run out the distance of today's event. A post-race veterinary examination of Linear, which finished a distant last, failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.

When questioned regarding the seemingly improved performance of La Zeel, trainer L. Kelly stated that subsequent to its last start at Doomben on 15 August he had given La Zeel nine days off training and thought this would be ideal for the mare's preparation for the 1600m of the Ballina Cup, however this race turned out to be a very fast run race and La Zeel tired considerably after racing up on the speed. L. Kelly added that the change of gear on La Zeel today had also contributed to the horse's improved performance.

Stewards sought an explanaton from S. Katsidis, rider of Pertinence, in regards to its disappointing performance. He stated that the horse stumbled on jumping away and failed to show its customary early speed. He added that the mare never felt comfortable during the race and, in his opinion, the 58 kilograms together with the distance rise to 1600m, may have proved too difficult a task for the mare today.

Kelly