FESTIVAL HALL WINS HIS SIXTH RACE FROM TEN STARTS

By Graham Potter | Saturday, June 4, 2022

Jasmine Cornish landed her winner for the day at the seventh time of asking on Saturday June 4.

The young apprentice took five rides at the Gold Coast and then travelled the 185km to Toowoomba to ride in another six races and it was ride number seven aboard the Matt Kropp trained Festival Prince that brought the desired result.

Festival Prince has always been a more than useful performer. He was sent back to the paddock after a lack-lustre debut, but, when he resumed, he was a different horse running up no less than five successive wins from August 14, 2021 through to November 6, 2021.

Cornish had partnered the son of Fruehling in two of those victories.

Festival Prince then had a four month break from racing. He was back in action at the Gold Coast on March 19, 2022 and then tackled two races at Eagle Farm with a best result there being a creditable second behind Bullfinch in Class 6 Handicap over 1400m.

Robbie Fradd did the honours in the saddle in those city runs (Kropp couldn’t put Cornish on for those runs even if he wanted to as she did not have a metropolitan license) at the time but, back at Toowoomba, Cornish, who was the last rider to win on Festival Prince, was reinstated as the rider for the June 4 contest.

Jumping as a $2.50 favourite in a seven-horse field, Cornish took Festival Prince back early and he raced alone in sixth place, some four lengths off the leader, a position he maintained until late in the sweep to the home turn.

At that stage Cornish got to work on Festival Prince, tracking the Kropp trained runner out wide into clear air on straightening so he could have an uninterrupted run home.

Once in the straight Cornish set Festival Prince about his business and he responded like the good horse he is, quickly reeling in the bulk of the field before getting the better of the $19 chance Exceed Rock, who was the only runner to put up any real resistance to Festival Prince’s sustained finishing effort.

That was Festival Prince’s sixth win from only ten starts and it was Cornish’s third win on the horse.