EF OCT 10 - LISTEN SON DEMOLISHES OPPOSITION

By Matthew Grimson and Graham Potter | Monday, October 12, 2009

Eagle Farm, October 10, 2009.
3yo QTIS Handicap - 1400m. Time: 1-24.12.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 1m.
1 Listen Son; 2 Dark Night; 3 Fleet ‘N’ Fast.

With no pace on early Listen Son had little difficulty in crossing his field and taking up his favourite position at the head of affairs. Once there jockey Kristy Banks cleverly dictated the pace to suit her mount and it was therefore no surprise when Listen Son was able to kick away with ease when asked for his effort in the home straight.

The balance of the field were left scrambling and in the end they were only chasing for a consolation prize as Listen Son romped home to underline his above average ability by claiming his fourth career win from only eight starts. Listen Son is now unbeaten in three goes over 1400m.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Stable spokesman Darryl Gollan: “Yeah, great win. The blinkers are still on. I don’t know why they put that in there. They’ve never been off him.” (The race-book noted a gear change - blinkers off first time. That information was misleading). “You know, I was confident. The horse has always worked good, but everyone said he couldn’t win. I don’t know why they would think that.

“I don’t know what we’ll do next. We were going to put him out after the last start, but we’ll just see what happens. He doesn’t look like anything, but he is a tough horse. He’ll go home tonight and lick the tin out. We’ll work it out in the next few days."

Jockey Kristy Banks: “Yeah, he’s just a great honest little horse. I’ve been on him except for his first couple, so he has been good to me. When I heard they were going to ride Fleet ‘N’ Fast off the pace I was really happy. There didn’t look to much other speed in it, so it worked out really good. As he matures he will definitely get up to a mile. He’s still a big baby.

“We sort of thought if something wants to go hard we’ll just ride him off the pace and see if we could get to the line a bit stronger. But when I saw the outside alley I thought there is no use changing his pattern now. It’ll be too hard to get over. Got to the lead, and I just had that easy lead. He is improving all the time, he really dashed today. He is going to be a really nice horse, yeah.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Listen Son): 4.00 out to 4.80 in to 4.40.
Favourite (Titanium Rock): 3.80 out to 4.00. Finished eighth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Dark Knight (A. Best) and Titanium Rock (S. Katsidis) both began awkwardly. Sanderson (J. Byrne) and Dusty’s Felt (C. Reith) made contact on jumping away. R. McMahon the rider of Captain Clayton was severely reprimanded for failing to make sufficient effort to prevent his mount shifting in shortly after the start resulting in Lunar Rose (L. Cassidy) having to be steadied.

Passing the 1200m Captain Clayton had to be steadied when Dusty’s Felt (C. Reith) shifted in to take a position one off the fence behind Sanderson (J. Byrne). Lunar Rose raced wide in the early stages and near the 700m had to be checked when tightened for room between Shadows ‘N’ Stars (S. Seamer) and Captain Clayton, which shifted out after being restrained from the heels of Dusty’s Felt. At an inquiry into this incident R. McMahon the rider of Captain Clayton was severely reprimanded for failing to exercise sufficient care. Dienekes (P. Hammersley) raced wide throughout the event.

S. Seamer reported that he was instructed to ride Shadow ‘N’ Stars towards the rear of the field and after being trapped wide in the early stages he attempted to restrain the filly to take a position closer to the fence however, Shadow ‘N’ Stars resented being restrained and he was obliged to race wide for the remainder of the event.

Stewards sought an explanation from S. Katsidis regarding the performance of Titanium Rock today. S. Katsidis stated that he was instructed to ride the horse from a rearward position as is its normal racing pattern and after the horse began awkwardly shortly after the start, when he elected to settle the horse, it was inclined to race ungenerously in the early stages of the event.

S. Katsidis added that even though the tempo of the race did not suit Titanium Rock he was disappointed with the horse's finishing effort and recommended that connections look at stepping the horse up in distance. Trainer M. Webb confirmed the instructions issued to S. Katsidis and explained that whilst at first glance the horse's performance may appear disappointing he felt the slow tempo of the race was a significant factor for the horse's seemingly disappointing performance. The explanation was noted. A post race veterinary examination of Titanium Rock failed to reveal any abnormalities.

*Jockey Ric McMahon was issued with two severe reprimands for careless riding aboard Captain Clayton, both reprimands coming in his first ride back in Brisbane since returning from a riding stint in Singapore.