EF DEC 02 - GUNDY SON BRAINS THEM

By Matthew Grimson and Graham Potter | Friday, December 4, 2009

Eagle Farm, December 2, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 11.5m.
Class 3 Plate (C, G & E - Set Weights) - 1200m. Time: 1-10.51.
1 Gundy Son; 2 Belboah; 3 Heartsun.

This was no contest. If it was a boxing match it would have been stopped well before the Robert Heathcote trained Gundy Son crossed the line a crushing six lengths clear of the second placed Belboah, who, like those behind him, was given a galloping lesson by the winner.

The only danger to the Gundy Son result was the possibility of jockey Stathi Katisidis losing balance as he craned his neck around, searching for any challengers as they struggled way back in his wake. No, let’s re-phrase that. Katisidis is far too good a rider to allow anything untoward like that to happen, so there was actually never any threat to Gundy Son’s success as he surged clear to complete a resounding victory - the third of his career.

It was just another situation where the well-known marketing phrase, ‘so where the bloody hell are you’ could be used as Katsidis scanned the scene behind him. But Katsidis need not have bothered. The rest were nowhere!

While the win was as emphatic as it could possibly be, take a step back and remember this was only Class 3 company, and more telling assignments await the four-year-old gelding after which we will know more about his prowess.

For now though, his connections can celebrate a smart win scored in stylish fashion.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Robert Heathcote: “Well he did run second to Battlefield. On that particular day I told the owners that he was nearly unbeatable, if there is such a thing, and along came Battlefield. It was just extraordinary what Battlefield did that day and he stamped himself as a genuine class horse which he ultimately proved when he went on and won the Ramornie.

“Gundy Son is a nice horse. He’s still very much learning the game. That’s the good thing about him. I certainly haven’t got to the bottom of him yet. But, ok, he gets a big drop back in class today. It’s a Class 3 ... a slightly shifty track ... rail out. But what he did looked good!

“You know to stretch right out ... level out ... hit the line hard. It was just a lovely ride from Stathi (Katsidis). That’s two absolute pearlers he’s given me in a row.” (Katisidis won on Hallmark Star for Heathcote earlier on the card).

“We’ll go back to town on a Saturday now and he’s going to be very competitive in a lot of races. I’m not sure what the bottom of this horse is. Let’s be realistic. It is early still, but he is a very nice horse. He is a pleasure to train.”

Jockey Stathi Katsidis: “He is a really nice horse. He does a few little things wrong. If you can just ride him a little bit quieter in a race ... like not touch him at all ... he’s got an explosive finish. He just showed how much better he was than them today. He is definitely a Saturday class horse ridden the right way.

“From the bad alley last start I had to dig him up a little bit after he missed the kick and it didn’t just quite work out then. He was a bit flat at the end (when finishing second behind Left Standing), but, ridden the right way, he’s got an amazing finish.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Gundy Son): 2.00 in to 1.80.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Unsupervised (J. Byrne) and Gundy Son (S. Katsidis) bumped on jumping away. Heartsun (D. Browne) began awkwardly. Major Wood (A. Erhart), which jumped awkwardly, shifted in near the 1150m and bumped the hind quarters of Man Of Oar (G. Colless).

Near the 600m Triple Down (L. Cassidy) attempted to shift out from behind the heels of King Of Spirit (K. Wharton) and in doing so bumped Man Of Oar. Unsupervised and Man Of Oar both raced wide for the majority of the event.

D. Browne the rider of Heartsun pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding under the provisions of AR137(a) in that he permitted his mount to shift out near the 200m when insufficiently clear of Unsupervised causing that horse to be checked. D. Browne's licence to ride in races was suspended for a period of 7 meetings to commence midnight Sunday 6 December 2009 and expire midnight 18 December 2009.

When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of Spirit Of Flatley jockey D. Craven stated that in his opinion the horse failed to handle the current prevailing track conditions.