DOOM NOV 07 - ZAHAS PRIDE UNDERLINES HIS POTENTIAL

By Graham Potter | Monday, November 9, 2009

Doomben, November 7, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 4m.
Open Handicap - 1350m. Time: 1-19.68.
1 Zahas Pride; 2 Rasmussen; 3 Mitanni.

The Michael Nolan trained Zahas Pride bounced back from a form hiccup last time to confirm his reputation as a well above average performer. The win here was the chestnut’s seventh win from only eleven starts.

Nolan issued the instruction for jockey Larry Cassidy to place the four-year-old just off the speed this time and the rider achieved that by putting Zahas Pride into the box-seat, albeit quite hard held, behind Rasmussen and Fasliyev Dancer.

Jockey Glen Colless gave Rasmussen a bit of a breather in the sweep to the turn and then tried to kick away on straightening. Cassidy was alert to that move and he quickly slipped Zahas Pride up on the inside of Fasliyev Dancer and immediately went after the leader.

Zahas Pride enjoyed a favourable 5kg pull at the weights with Rasmussen and Cassidy measured his chase accordingly, gradually building momentum before ranging up to move alongside Rasmussen before landing the knockout blow in the final few strides.

It was a well crafted victory by Zahas Pride and the usual game effort from Rasmussen, who has now finished runner-up in each of his last two starts.

Mitanni, the ten-year-old carrying 59kg, once again left enthusiasts shaking their heads in admiration as he hit the line hard to claim third placing, just 1.20 lengths behind the winner who was carrying 6kg less than the top weight.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Michael Nolan: “We’ve been riding him forward all the time. We thought today ... just in this harder race ... we thought we’d just sit him behind Rasmussen, you know, as an experiment. He is a hard-going horse in the trails and a hard going horse on the track in races, but I said to Larry (Cassidy) to sit just behind Rasmussen today.

“The way it panned out, it was a pretty even pace ... I won’t say it was a hot pace ... and basically he did settle and he travelled good. When the pace slowed ... he probably over-raced a bit ... you know between the 800 and the 600, but ahh ... jeez, he attacks the line this horse. He is a good horse.

“As I’ve said, (jockey) Michael (Hellyer) did nothing wrong last time. The horse just put in a bad one, which was a bit of a mystery. He came into that race in good order and he got an easy lead, but just didn’t go well in the straight. It was his only bad run.

Whether he backs up next week, I haven’t decided yet. I think it is the Brisbane Handicap over a mile at Eagle Farm ... I have to have a chat to Larry (Cassidy). We came to this race just to see where we would head.”

Jockey Larry Cassidy: “He jumped in straight behind the leader. He’s a real fighter. He loves a dog-fight and he got one of them today. He’s won over a mile and I think he’s got no problem running a mile. You know, as the tracks get a bit more give in it, he’s going to get better too.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Zahas Pride): 7.00 out to 8.50 in to 6.00
Favourite (Rasmussen): 4.80 in to 4.00 out to 4.40. Finished second.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Deacon (M. Hellyer) was slow to begin. Southerly Impact jumped away awkwardly and missed the start.

S Scriven, rider of Southerly Impact, was found guilty of a charge of careless riding in that near the 1200m he attempted to force a run to the inside of Dance Girl Dance (R. McMahon) where there was insufficient room and as a result struck the hind quarters of Dance Girl Dance. Southerly Impact then made contact with the running rail and had to be checked, losing valuable ground. S. Scriven was suspended from riding in races for a period covered by 7 meetings, to commence at midnight 7 November and to expire at midnight, 18 November 2009.

When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of Fasliyev Dancer, J. Holder stated that the horse travelled well outside the leader however when asked for an effort from the 500m it did not respond to his riding and did not finish the race off as expected. Trainer's representative Mrs K. Loy agreed that the performance was disappointing today and that she would monitor the horse's recovery to ascertain if the horse would be spelled or proceed with its current preparation. A post-race veterinary examination of Fasliyev Dancer failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.

When questioned regarding the improved performance of Zahas Pride, trainer M. Nolan stated that following its 7th of 12 at Doomben on 24 October, he had pathology tests carried out on the horse and these tests showed no abnormalities in the blood profiles and he was at a loss to explain the horse's run on that occasion.