SCST OCT 25 - SARGE IN CHARGE BACK IN BUSINESS

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Sunshine Coast, October 25, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 8m.
Class 3 QTIS 3yo Plate - 1000m. Time: 57.47.
1 Sarge In Charge; 2 Sequaboomwa; 3 Femina Fashion.

It is always good to see a superior horse in action and Sarge In Charge was the standout at Coloundra on Sunday where the Liam Birchley trained chestnut was having his first outing as a three-year-old.

Sarge In Charge showed tremendous promise in his first three-run preparation as a two-year-old which concluded with a runner-up finish behind The Heckler in the Karaka Millions at Ellerslie.

Sarge In Charge had four starts in his second prep and he never dodged anything, lining up instead in a string of feature races (The Listed ken Russell Memorial, The Group 2 Champagne Classic and Sires Produce Stakes and the Group 1 TJ Smith). The colt did not gain any success for his efforts there, but neither did his reputation suffer. The fact that his progress was restricted by firstly a physical injury and then more by a mental problem during this time (see Liam Birchley comment) helps put those results in a proper perspective.

Sunday was the start of a new chapter in Sarge In Charge’s career. All that Birchley was looking for over the 1000m distance was a solid performance from the horse. He got it ... in a big enough dose to put a smile on his face. The chestnut went to the rear of the field, hard held early. He breezed past all of his opposition with the minimum of fuss in the home straight (it was akin to a training gallop) and won like the good horse he clearly is. He is a horse to watch.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Liam Birchley: “Yeah, I’m real happy with that. He carried an injury all last prep. He injured himself first run back. He tore a muscle up under his arm. We got the injury right but it affected his confidence ... you know, it’s like a hamstring ... every-time he felt a twinge he just wouldn’t let down. He just wouldn’t let down that last little bit. I just ran out of time.

“He is a ten length better horse than the horse that ran third in that race ... the TJ.” (The TJ Smith was Sarge In Charge’s final run of his last prep). “He is a ten length better horse than that horse (Southport).

“So I just gave him all that time off (since June) because I just wanted to get it out of his head, you know. I just brought him here to give him some confidence. Hopefully he can improve. I’m very pleased with the performance today.”

Jockey Glen Colless: “I rode him all of his last preparation. He ran in the better races and he sort of had a few problems throughout his prep. He just wasn’t right the whole time, but he was still running good races. He was feeling something and just wouldn’t let down properly and he was still only getting beat three or four lengths in top class races.

“We know the potential he showed as a two-year-old as well. He’s come back this time and he seems fine, so hopefully there are bigger and better things for him.

“I was happy to go back on him here. He’s bred to get over 2000m, you know, so I was happy to let them go. He just settled nice. I always had them covered on the corner. He didn’t even need to go through all his gears. It was real good.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Sarge In Charge): 2.30 out to 2.70.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Redibis (K. Banks) was slow to begin. Pegunny Warrior (D. Griffin) jumped outwards at the start, making contact with Sarge In Charge (G. Colless). Daneomite (L. Rolls) began awkwardly and shifted out. Sequaboomwa (M. Wood) and Lucky Deluchi (P. Hammersley) brushed on jumping away.

Approaching the 700m, Lucky Deluchi (P. Hammersley) shifted out, making contact with Our Mr Cashman, which in turn shifted out, making contact with Pegunny Warrior. Nearing the 500m, Sarge In Charge had to be steadied after improving onto the heels of Femina Fashion (S. Katsidis).

Passing the 200m, Before The Storm (K. Wharton) was tightened for room between Our Mr Cashman (B. Stewart) and Lucky Deluchi, which shifted out under pressure. Daneomite, Our Mr Cashman and Pegunny Warrior raced wide for the majority of the event.