CARRARA CONQUERS CONDITIONS TO TAKE OUT THE DOOMBEN SLIPPER

By Graham Potter | Monday, May 25, 2009

Doomben Slipper (2yo - Listed) - 1350m. Time: 1-23.78. Track - Heavy 9. Rail - out 4m.

Carrara came home courtesy of a gem of a ride by Nash Rawiller in the Listed Doomben Slipper.

Already faced with heavy underfoot conditions the two-year-old feature was run is a torrential downpour which complicated the task of every runner. Rawiller positioned Carrara just off the speed and then made an early dash for home in the straight.

The favourite One Lickety Split made his run along the outside and moved forward to threaten halfway up the straight, but his run peaked too early for him to remain a factor. It was left to the fast-finishing Choistar, who came from third last on the bend, to keep Carrara working all the way to the finish. Choistar was closing on the winner, but Rawiller’s early move and his mount’s resolute gallop ensured that Carrarra still held a comfortable half-length winning margin at the line.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Tony Vasil: “We’ll be tempted to back him up next week, with the proviso that he pulls up okay. So we’ll just see how he goes through the week as to whether we go next Saturday.

I’m probably not tempted to go the mile at this stage in his life. I’m a great believer in looking after two-year-olds. I know it’s a Group 1, but I just think 1600m at this stage of his life is probably going too far. I’d rather probably put him away and bring him back for the spring.

He is the second Stakes winner for Elvstroem. Viking Legend was the first one. Everyone was potting Elvstroem as the sire about six weeks ago with sales and all that. Everybody was expecting him to be something he was never going to be, and that’s a two-year-old stallion. If you sit on them and give them time I sure he’s going to be a great stallion ... or he’s got great potential ... but they are three-year-olds really. He himself wasn’t a two-year-old.

“It’s funny in this country we very much typecast stallions. Even if they come from Europe and they are stayers, we expect them to produce two-year-olds and if they don’t we sack them. It’s disgraceful. Anyway, he’s done the job.”

Jockey Nash Rawiller: “Every time I asked him, he went huge. He just jumps out of the ground. I was able to put him right where we wanted to be. He’s a highly promising horse. We jumped from barrier eighteen and he was able to show good speed to get across into a lovely position. His greatest asset is his turn of foot at the top of the straight and he really held that right to the line. He had a bit left at the end. He’s the sort of horse when he hits the front he’s a bit lost, but, every time I gave him one with the stick he found half a length, that’s what I like most about him.”

The lightly raced Carrara was having only his third start here. The gelding won on debut and then ran third in the Blue Sapphire (Listed). He did finish six lengths back on that occasion, but that was no disgrace behind the very smart Black Caviar, who has carried all before him to date. Black Caviar is currently two from two with her two wins being achieved by a combined total of eleven lengths.

Tony Vasil and jockey Nash Rawiller enjoyed great success racing Elvstroem over his career. Rawiller partnered the son of Danehill in seventeen consecutive races (the last seventeen of his twenty-seven race career). Victories during that period included Group 1 successes in the Caulfield Cup, the Dubai Duty Free, the Underwood and the CF Orr Stakes.

Scott Vasil (speaking at the trophy presentation ceremony after Carrara’s win): “When Nash (Rawiller) teamed up with Gai (Waterhouse), we didn’t know when we would have Nash riding for us again. We are very happy to be reunited with him for this success.”

The Gordon Yorke trained One Lickety Split tasted defeat for the first time in four starts here. The colt finished unplaced, 3.20 lengths off the winner.

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner Carrara): 10.00 out to 11.00.
Favourite (One Lickety Split): 3.00 out top 3.60. Finished seventh.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Jockey M. Walker, the rider of Eveready To Dance, pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding under AR. 137(a), the careless riding being that approaching the 850m he permitted his mount to shift in, resulting in contact with One Lickety Split, which in turn shifted in, dictating the running of Captain Sonador, resulting in that horse having to be checked, and a short distance later he again allowed his mount to shift in when not sufficiently clear of One Lickety Split, resulting in that horse being taken in onto Captain Sonador which as a result had to be checked. M. Walker's licence to ride in races was suspended for a period of 7 days, with the term of suspension to commence immediately and expire at midnight on Wednesday, 3 June 2009.