SCST OCT 11 - STRAIGHT-FORWARD WIN FOR SIDE TO SIDE

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Sunshine Coast, October 11, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 6m.
Class 1 Handicap - 1600m. Time: 1-12.52.
1 Side To Side; 2 Daytime Drama; 3 Coroner.

The Barry Baldwin trained Side By Side raced first-up here and the lightly raced four-year-old jumped as a clear-cut favourite.

Jockey Shane Scriven had come to the track for only one ride and he settled the gelding in midfield, caught three wide early on. On straightening Side By Side tracked even wider while racing some six lengths off the front-runner with seven runners still in front of him.

It had been an untroubled run for the favourite up until now and things continued to go to script when Scriven asked Side By Side to quicken. The gelding started to make up ground quickly without ever seeming to get out of second gear and he raced right past those seven runners with the minimum of fuss to record a soft win.

Side By Side previous win (he is now a two time winner from five starts) also came first-up (when on debut). He didn’t flatter in his next two starts when tested in feature company, including an unplaced finish behind Court in the BTC Classic, but Baldwin thought enough of him to put the horse in that sort of company, which could be a pointer to his future progress.

Side To Side finished third in his last run of his first prep, when finishing a beaten favourite on heavy going over 1400m. Again the support was there. In that context this first-up win might just be a launching pad for better things to come.

The win was the first for jockey Shane Scriven since he returned from a holiday after his successful Premiership winning season.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Barry Baldwin: “Yeah, mate. We’ve had a bit of an opinion of him ... but he has got to improve a bit more. Like I say, we’ve got a bit of an opinion of him, but next time he will just have to step up again.

“It was really heavy going his last start (in his previous prep) and he got on the outside of the track. He should have won that day. He’s got to improve. He’s got to go a bit better and maybe he’ll go a bit further too.”

Jockey Shane Scriven: “He’s always had ability. Come back in and he’s settled down a fair bit. He’s got a little bit better races in him than he contested today. I was very happy in the run and he won like... you know when they come back you always sort of wonder how they’ll go in a race ... but he’s done exactly what I thought he would today. So, onwards and upwards.

“That’s my first winner back. I’ve been thereabouts. I took a holiday at the end of the season. I went away ... recharged the energy boosters. I took off and got terribly fat. I still am. I won a Class 1 today. In a couple of weeks time I hope to be winning a Group 1.”

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Side To Side, which got its near-fore leg caught up in the barrier stall, was removed from the gates, examined by the club's veterinary surgeon and cleared to race.

Rumpapapum (A. Erhart) was tightened for room at the start between Side To Side (S. Scriven) and Coroner (D. Browne), which shifted in after beginning awkwardly. Telbron Gold (A. Spinks) and Umhlanga Rocks (I. Coombes) were tightened for room at the start between Bella Sirena (J. Byrne) and Diehard Trying (J. Holder), which shifted out.

Near the 700m, Diehard Trying (J. Holder) was tightened for room when racing to the inside of Bella Sirena (J. Byrne), which was taken in by Telbron Gold (A. Spinks). Umhlanga Rocks was held up for clear running rounding the home turn and shifted in near the 400m, brushing the running rail.

Magic Symphony (P. Hammersley) was held up for clear running rounding the home turn and in the early stages of the straight. Side To Side (S. Scriven) had a tendency to lay in over the final 300m. Diehard Trying (J. Holder) was held up for clear running over the final 80m. Diehard Trying raced wide for the majority of the event. It’s Wunderbar lost its off-fore plate in running. A post-race veterinary examination of It’s Wunderbar failed to reveal any significant abnormalities other than the gelding had lost its off-fore plate in running.