DOOM NOV 18 - EQUATES PREVAILS IN TITANTIC STRUGGLE

By Graham Potter | Friday, November 20, 2009

Doomben, November 18, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 4.9m.
Class 5 Handicap - 1200m. Time: 1-10.02.
1 Equates; 2 Marqualo; 3 Lennon.

It was a battle royal as the Ray Dart trained Equates and the Bryan Guy trained Marqualo each refused to give an inch as they matched strides in a frenzied finish to this exhilarating contest.

These two runners dictated the early speed. Marqualo landed in the lead but Equates, who bungled the start, quickly rallied when prompted by apprentice jockey Michael Hellyer and he raced up from his outside draw to go past Marqualo into a clear lead.

Jockey Jim Byrne was happy to allow Marqualo to track the front-runner to the turn but, once the field straightened, Byrne pushed Marqualo forward and asked his mount to take the battle to Equates.

Marqualo did just that, but he found a willing opponent in Equates who was full of fight. As Equates and Marqualo went at each other with meaning, Lennon emerged on their outside as a real threat, but the riders of Equates and Marqualo would hardly have noticed him as they remained locked together in their private battle.

Lennon remained close enough to pick up the pieces if either of the main protagonists faltered, but that was not to be the case. There was no let-up from either Equates or Marqualo as these two runners and riders gave their all with each and every passing stride until they flashed through the line together.

Equates got the verdict by a nose from Marqualo with Lennon, who had every chance, finishing back in third place.

It is worth taking a note of the run of Chaski. The joint top-weight was well back in the early part and was ridden for luck down the inside rail in home straight. He got none. With nowhere to go over the last 150m, he went nowhere, but somehow still only finished 1.50 lengths behind the winner who carried 3.5kg less than the Liam Birchley trained runner.

Another one for the notebook.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Ray Dart: “I thought he’d go good today coming back to a weaker grade (dropping from a Saturday Class 6 to a midweek Class 5). It makes a big difference … and claiming the 2kg off with Michael (Hellyer) I thought he’d go well.

‘It was a pretty hot field he ran in last time (the race was won by Sword Of Damocles). He missed the jump today and we were still able to do it. The change of gear (blinkers off) came about because I put the blinkers on last time and he did absolutely nothing with him on. That’s the only time he had them on, so I took them straight off because they did nothing for him whatsoever.”

Apprentice jockey Michael Hellyer: “I tell you what, to go head to head with Jimmy Byrne was quite something. I watched the replay and funnily enough we looked like we were going at it at the exact same time. We looked the same, you know, the same motion back and forth … we were doing the same thing and I was just lucky enough that my horse stretched out.

“I was worried after the start because Ray (Dart) wanted me to be handy … if not lead. I wanted to lead. He reared up at the start and missed it by two. I thought I’d give him a dig and if he doesn’t go anywhere I was going to hook him back after that bad start, but when I gave him a dig he actually accelerated so I thought I’d let him role.

“I was going to sit outside the favourite (Marqualo) … outside Jimmy Byrne … but he got pulling too much so I let him roll into the lead. I got it all out on my own in front. I was able to give him a breather. Jimmy got a head in front of me halfway down the straight, but my fella had a lot of heart and fought back and he just got there on the line.

“Had I got beat I probably would have been a mug for missing the start, but I won so I’m a champion.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Equates): 4.60 out to 6.00.
Favourite (Marqualo): 2.70 out to 3.10 in to 2.90. Finished second.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Equates (M. Hellyer) was slow to begin. Chaski (S. Katsidis) was disappointed for a clear run to the inside of Equates over the concluding stages when that horse shifted in marginally. Jester Rumble lost its off-fore plate in running.

Stewards sought an explanation from jockey D. Browne regarding the seemingly disappointing performance of What A Success today. D. Browne stated that he was instructed to lead, however the horse did not begin well and was tightened for room shortly after the start by Marqualo, which shifted in, and as a result he settled further back in the field than he would have liked. D. Brown added that during the middle stages, At The Roxy shifted out and made contact with What A Success on several occasions and he felt that this may have had an unsettling effect on the gelding.

Trainer S. Mackinnon stated that the horse's inability to lead or take up a forward position today contributed to its poor performance and expressed to stewards that, in his opinion, What A Success is better suited to racing on synthetic surfaces and that he would attempt to program the horse's races accordingly. A post-race veterinary examination of What A Success failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.

Trainer R. Dart reported that, in his opinion, the removal of blinkers from Equates and the weaker class of race today aided in the performance of the gelding.

A post-race veterinary examination of Flinders Princess revealed the horse to be sore in the near-fore fetlock and exhibiting an abnormal respiratory noise. Trainer B Abbey was advised that he would be required to provide a veterinary clearance along with the results of an ECG prior to the horse's next race start.