SCST NOV 22 - MR VALENTINO SCORES AT COLOUNDRA

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Sunshine Coast, November 22, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - True.
Maiden Plate (C, G & E - Set Weights) - 1400m. Time: 1-25.73.
1 Mr Valentino; 2 Elegant Rhythm; 3 Shoteka.

The Dennis Heinemann trained Mr Valentino stepped up in distance here (from 1000m to 1400m) and he scored his breakthrough win in only his second career start.

The chestnut put together a telling finishing effort to run down Elegant Rhythm in the concluding stages while at the same time holding off the persistent challenge of Shoteka who also gave every effort all the way to the line.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Dennis Heinemann: “Yeah mate, obviously he needs a little bit of ground. He always did. The other day they went a little bit quick and he got lost early, but he got to the line lovely. We just stepped him up. He’s still got a lot of improvement. He is a very nice horse.

“He did it nicely today. He didn’t look like he was really putting much into it … but he’s got a massive stride and that’s what his great benefit is. He will go further. He will be like a 1600m … 1800m horse … but, in time. We’ve got plenty of time.”

Apprentice jockey Michael Hughes: “Mate, the horse does go ok. He’s only had the one start before this a couple of weeks ago over 1000m. It was far too short.

“I’ve had a go at him in track-work. He is a lovely, big-moving horse. He was always going to get ground, so Dennis (Heinemann) jumped him up to the 1400 today.

“He’s got good gate-speed. He sort of bounced … got to the fence. Still very green. He’s a big horse. Pretty much at the half-mile, as soon as he had to get around that turn, you could feel him change strides. He just started to come one off the fence and he was always laying out and I thought, ahh, here we go. He made it hard work from there pretty much all the way home.

“It didn’t feel like he had a lot there, but you were still trying to get him around. Even in the straight, probably until the furlong, he was still looking at the horses to his inside. I couldn’t get at him. I really couldn’t get at him because I’m left-handed and I was too worried about trying to keep him straight.

“When I got a couple around his bum … he didn’t quicken, he just lengthened stride and he had them covered then, but he was still looking at them. He is not too sure what’s going on. His ability got him through.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Mr Valentino): 6.00 out to 7.50 in to 7.00.
Favourite (Sobo): 4.80 out to 5.50 in to 3.80. Finished fifth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Dukes Son (M. Milford) stood flatfooted at the start losing valuable ground. Trainer R. Drysdale was advised that he must obtain two further barrier certificates for the horse prior to its next race start.

Cowboy Jackie (A. Badger) began awkwardly. Hardact (D. Barron) and Casa Fundada (D. Browne) made contact on jumping away. Fort Carre (K. Pope) jumped away awkwardly resulting in K. Pope becoming unbalanced.

Approaching the 800m, Sobo (K. Sawyers) shifted in and made contact with the running rail. Fort Carre hung out over the final 600m, resulting in jockey Pope being unable to fully test the gelding in the straight. Trainer J. McLachlan was advised that Fort Carre would be declared ineligible to race until the horse performs satisfactorily in a barrier trial.