EF NOV 14 - TWO-IN-A-ROW FOR UNCLE JAN

By Graham Potter | Monday, November 16, 2009

Eagle Farm, November 14, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 9m.
Class 6 Plate (Set Weights) - 1400m. Time: 1-22.63.
1 Uncle Jan; 2 General Purple 3 Mr Orient.

The Matt Kropp trained Uncle Jan ($26.00) was easily the longest priced winner on the day (in spite of posting a win at his last start). He came home like a good thing under a well judged ride from apprentice jockey Mitchell Speers.

The turn-off for most punters would have been the drop in distance from 2200m to 1400m, but Uncle Jan was having none of that. He was out there to win and he went about his business in confident fashion.

Cuddled in third last place early, Speers started to rev the engine in the sweep to the turn. As Uncle Jan began to respond, Speers shifted his run to track all of nine wide on the turn. Uncle Jan was now allowed to run his own race avoiding any traffic problems in the big field in the home straight and the gelding warmed to his task.

As expected, there was no flashing acceleration, but Uncle Jan steadily built momentum. At the 180m mark there were chances everywhere, spread right across the track. Mr Orient, General Purple, Ulladulla and Thorondo were leading the chase at that stage, but none of them could hold out Uncle Jan in final strides and he closed up late to claim his second successive victory by a neck.

General Purple (second), Mr Orient (Third) and Ulladulla (fourth) all turned in spirited performances. All finished within a length of the winner, a fact which underlines the competitive nature of the race.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Matt Kropp: “Yeah, he did come back in distance, but he’s a lot better miler than people think. He got very dour.

“If you’ve seen what we’ve seen he is capable of doing, like when he won the Dalby Cup ... I know it’s is only the Dalby Cup, but aah ... he covered ground, got off them and just did it so well. We’ve seen what he can do fresh. The kid (Mitchell Speers) rode him an absolute treat!”

Apprentice jockey Mitchell Speers: “That was my first time on him. Yeah, the speed wasn’t too bad. He was fresh. Matt (Kropp) said just to drop him out the back. That’s the only way to ride the stayers fresh and he said it would hit the line good and he was right.

“He took a while to wind up. I sort of had to get going a bit earlier than I wanted to, but I didn’t sort of want to be saving him for a late dash.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Uncle Jan): 21.00 out to 26.00.
Favourite (Blackwoods Choice); 3.30 out to 3.80. Finished tenth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Woorim (L. Cassidy) was slow to begin. Thorondo (M. Cahill) and Uncle Jan (M. Speers) was tightened for room at the start between Cool Edition (B. Stewart), which began awkwardly, and Eleventh Command (L. Rolls), which jumped outwards.

Cuban Dancer (M. Palmer) over-raced in the early and middle stages. Mr Orient (J. Bowditch) raced wide for the majority of the event.

When questioned regarding the performance of Blackwoods Choice, jockey J. Byrne stated that the horse did not travel as well in transit as it had on previous occasions and failed to show its customary acceleration over the concluding stages, which led him to believe that the horse had reached the end of its preparation. Trainer Mr R. Lipp advised that he would send it for an immediate spell. A post race veterinary examination of Blackwoods Choice failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.

L. Cassidy, rider of Woorim, reported that the gelding was slow to begin and as a result raced at the tail of the field. L. Cassidy explained that he attempted to obtain clear running close to the fence in the home straight however was unable to do so and was held up on the heels of the tiring Askew and he was obliged to restrain Woorim. L. Cassidy further added that when the horse was able to obtain clear running in the latter stages of the straight it finished the race off well.

Stewards sought an explanation from M. Hellyer, rider of La Bella Luisa, in respect to the tactics employed today. M. Hellyer stated that he had been instructed to position the mare midfield, however when the horse began well and there was a distinct lack of speed in the early stages he felt he had no other option but to progress forward to the outside of the leader.

Trainer J. Wallace confirmed the instructions and after viewing the film agreed with the comments of apprentice Hellyer, however advised stewards he would continued to issue instructions for the mare to be positioned midfield as he feels this is where it races best. The explanation was noted.