FREEDOM AVENUE BREEZES HOME WITH EASE

By Graham Potter | Saturday, January 22, 2022

Freedom Avenue had relocated to the Tony and Maddysen Sears stable towards the end of 2021 arriving with a previous race record of three unplaced runs … the last one being at Gunnedah back on August 10, 2021.

That meant that when the Sears camp sent Freedom Avenue out to contest a Maiden Handicap over 1000m on the poly Track at the Sunshine on January 7, 2022, the chestnut gelding was racing fresh, first-up after close to a five month layoff from race action.

In the race Kyle Wilson Taylor had Freedom Avenue ($5) racing just better than midfield, saving ground on the rail, as the field took the sweep to the home turn.

Freedom Avenue cornered fifth, only two lengths off the leader, on straightening and he looked to be full of running, but the inside run had its downside as Freedom Avenue was held up … albeit only marginally … approaching the 200m mark.

While that was happening, Wine Not Roses ($5.50), who had been held very wide throughout the running, was flying down the centre of the track and, such was Wine Not Rose’s momentum under the urgings of Samantha Collett, it became clear inside the final 100m that nobody was going to catch that runner.

Freedom Avenue did get out and did well enough, considering that slight hiccup in the straight and arguably being short of a run, to grab second place – which was his best result to date in his four career starts.

Another Sears trained runner finished third with Bolting Leo coming in just behind Freedom Avenue … and it was the latter who offered a pointer to Freedom Avenue’s next result when taking into account the fact that Bolting Leo came out and won his next start.
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With the benefit of that first-up run, Freedom Avenue lined up for his next start two weeks later at Gatton on January 22 in a Maiden Plate over 1100m at the arguably generous odds of $4.40 as the money came for In'hinchable who started favourite at $2.20.

The betting boards had got the top two horses right, but they had them in the wrong order as Freedom Avenue, ridden this time by emerging apprentice Jasmine Cornish, finished far too strongly for the favourite to land his first win by a comfortable 1.30 length margin.

Cornish was content to be patient early while remaining within striking distance of the action up front where the pace was set by the in’hinchable. The Sears runner did corner pretty wide, but that also allowed him to straighten with a clear run as In’hinchable still made play up front, trying to skip away along the rail.

It didn’t take long for Freedom Avenue to put the result to rest though as the son of Eurozone appeared to race two strides to In’hinchable’s one over the final 150m, going away to win a little more easily than the official 1.30 length margin suggests.

*Adding further fuel to the merit to this win is the fact that In’hinchable came out and won his next start.

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