THE PIRACY PLAN: NOW FOR THE GRAND FINAL

By Graham Potter | Friday, December 3, 2021

The first part of the Sears Training Partnership strategy with regard to the mission set for the seven-year-old gelding Piracy has proved successful.

The son of Exceed and Excel had to meet very strict criteria, like all of the other runners in the final line-up, if he were to make the field for the Country Stampede Final at Doomben this Saturday and that not only took some planning but also some serious effort on the part of both the stable and the horse himself.

Runners could be roughly pencilled in for the final by winning a Country Stampede qualifying race, which Piracy did at Tara, but they also had to have had at least four starts at non TAB meetings as a part of the qualification criteria.

Tara, Dalby, Stanthorpe, Chinchilla suddenly were all on the travel plan schedule with the stable having to work out the strategy and sort out the travel logistics with stable staff making those round trips … and it all would have been for nought if Piracy himself had not held up his end of the bargain.

Piracy did just that with some real big efforts.

In the win at Tara, Piracy carried 60.5kg when giving the runner-up 4.5kg at the weights. That weight impost paled into insignificance compared to the 71.5kg Piracy carried to victory in his win at Dalby (this time he gave the runner-up a whopping 7.5kg advantage at the weights) … and after that he triumphed again at Chinchilla where, while the weight he carried might have gone down to 64kg, he was now giving even more weight to the runner-up … would you believe 9kg!

So, if they think the 62.5kg he has been set to carry in the Country Stampede Final is going to worry him his rivals had better think again. He has won on both good and soft going (is nought from two on heavy). He has drawn well and top jockey Ryan Maloney has issued his vote of confidence in the gelding by taking the ride.

Piracy’s career has followed an interesting path to get to this point.

Originally with John O’Shea for two runs, Piracy was still a maiden when he changed stables to Darren Beadman (when he was training briefly) for only one start (a second place) before being moved on to James Cummings. He won on debut for Cummings and then made it three-in-a-row in his next two starts before finishing second in the Listed Crowley.

Piracy would win twice more for Cummings before arriving in the Sears yard as a five-time winner, since which time the Sears camp have helped double Piracy’s number of victories with his race record, as he goes into the Country Stampeded Final, standing at tens wins and eleven places from forty-seven starts with just under $344 000 banked in prize-money.

So, it is all systems go for the Country Stampede Final.

The first part of the plan has been carried out to perfection.

Now to the challenge of the Grand Final.

He just has to win the race to make it mission accomplished.

Nobody said it would get any easier!

More articles