CORNISH BOOKENDS THE POLY TRACK MEETING

By Graham Potter | Thursday, September 8, 2022

A same day double at the Sunshine Coast on September 8 was the next point of success for Jasmine Cornish who won on the Robert Heathcote trained En Pointe and the Stewart McKinnon trained Wine Not Roses.

Both were important wins for the young apprentice in their own right.

The En Pointe victory was important because it helped progress the valuable working relationship Cornish is developing with Heathcote, the multiple Premiership winner trainer … a relationship which could play a huge part in Cornish’s career progress when her focus fully shifts to the metropolitan scene.

The Wine Not Roses victory was important because it cemented her place in a winning combination after playing her part in helping Wine Not Roses to a double success … the type of horse/rider affinity which attracts attention.

All in all, it was a very good day out for Cornish on the synthetic surface.
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El Pointe, Cornish’s first winner at the Poly Track meeting, was only having his second start when he lined up for a QTIS Three-Year-Old Maiden Plate over 1100m.

The three-year-old daughter of Better Than Ready had been given a sighter at Dalby on debut where she finished third over the 800m dash and she was better equipped all around going into her second-up assignment, although the $9 starting price about her chances arguably did not recognise that fact.

Cornish pushed El Pointe out fairly hard from the jump from her wide barrier, but she got where she wanted to be, taking the lead after the field had travelled 100m.

Ben Thompson, on Guru Class ($7.50), decided to take El Pointe on though, slipping up along the inside of the Heathcote runner and edging into a narrow lead in the sweep to the home turn.

Guru Class went for home on straightening, extending his advantage to a length over El Pointe, but El Pointe still had plenty left to offer and when Cornish asked her mount to extend, El Pointe, once again moved up to join issue with Guru Class, who did fight on, but, in the end El Pointe and Cornish were going too well for their only real rival and the final winning margin of 0.80 lengths aptly summed up the difference between the two runners.

Full marks to El Pointe, who had to do it at both ends in only her second career start and who came through that challenge with full marks.
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The number eleven barrier draw was never going to help the chances of Wine Not Roses in the last race of the day … a 0-60 Handicap over 1110m … at the Poly Track meeting on September 8.

Six wide, just off the leading line, early on was no place to be and jockey Jasmine Cornish decided to push forward with Wine Not Roses, asking the daughter of Mikki Isle to do some work as she accelerated past runners before finding herself in second place, right on the heels of the leader, by the time the field had travelled 300m.

Swinging two wide, and only one length back on straightening, Wine Not Rises had found a superb position from which to launch her finishing effort and, after Cornish had kept her at a comfortable gallop mid race, the Stewart McKinnon trained runner was ready to respond.

Not that there was any immediate urgency. As is becoming something of a trademark of hers, Cornish was happy to do enough to stay right in contention for the early part of the straight, only asking Wine Not Roses to up the ante approaching the 200m, where she duly surged into the lead.

At that stage, there were still challengers aplenty around Wine Not Roses, but she was only just starting to go through her gears and, inside the final 100m Wine Not Roses travelled strongly to the line, leaving the best of the rest to sort out the minor placings.

That’s two wins from three rides for Cornish on Wine Not Roses whose race record now stands at three wins (all on the Poly Track) and five minor placings from fourteen starts

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