DOOM DEC 05 - BAQABA STORMS HOME

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Doomben, December 5, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - True.
Class 6 Plate (Set Weights) - 1200m. Time: 1-08.67.
1 Baqaba; 2 Leapfrog; 3 Gag Order.

The Steve Tregea trained Baqaba continued to underline his potential by claiming his fourth career win in only seven starts. The lightly raced four-year-old also has two minor placings to his credit.

Baqaba was racing second-up here after resuming from a three month spell last time. He finished third first-up over 1000m and stepped up the distance test to a more preferred 1200m here.

Jockey Larry Cassidy ensured the gelding jumped well from pole position and he settled in sixth place on the rail in the early running. The inside run had served its purpose approaching the turn and Cassidy was eagerly looking to get Baqaba out early as he was in danger of being placed in restricted galloping room.

For several strides it looked as if Baqaba might be in trouble, but Cassidy persevered with his outward movement while at the same time trying to keep enough forward momentum in play to enable the gelding to stay in contention.

It was only when Baquba had shifted out across heels to be five wide - and it took him all the way until the 250m mark to get there - that he could concentrate fully on finding the straight-line speed required to reel in the runners ahead of him, but he settled to that task with meaning.

Leapfrog provided the most resistance to Baqaba’s late charge and he was the last of Baqaba’s opposition to be gunned down as the Cassidy pushed Baqaba into the lead with 75m left to run.

It was a big win by Baqaba, achieved with the promise of better things to come.

The result gave jockey Larry Cassidy a treble on the day.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Steve Tregea: “There was a little bit of a worry on the corner (when Baqaba raced behind a wall of horses) ... but he is a little bit of a bulldog. He doesn’t worry about too much.

“That last run in August (when third to Pins On Parade) was the end of his first preparation. We just gave him a little break after that. He seems to have come back about the same or maybe a little better. That will do at the moment. We’ll take that.

“It is a case of you have to be patient with a horse like him. You just wait until they are ready. He’s always been a pretty mature little horse, but he has had a few head issues. He’s also been shin-sore a couple of times, so we just took our time until he was ready.

“Last time in we thought he might run a mile. We nominated him for a mile race on the day he ended up running third to Pins On Parade here (August 29), but at that stage I just wasn’t keen to go to a mile so we just came back to the 1200. He ran third in that race and it was probably a bit short for him, so, yeah, we’ll be looking towards a mile.

“We’ll be looking to put him into a Black Type race, if we can do enough to get our rating up and get a run. I think he should be right after that. We are going forward ... that’s the important thing.”

Jockey Larry Cassidy: “I’ve always had a wrap on the horse. Steve (Tregea) has done a good job with him. He thinks a bit of the horse. He’s come back. He’s much stronger this time and he has still got a heap of improvement in him too. He is definitely a horse with a future.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Baqaba): 4.80 out to 5.50 in to 4.00.
The winner as the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Pelennium (M. Hellyer) raced wide throughout.

Stewards sought an explanation from J. Holder in relation to the performance of Left Standing. J. Holder stated that, in his opinion, the horse performs best when able to lead and dictate terms. He further added that after discussions with trainer G. Heinrich, it was her intention to step the horse up in distance. A post-race veterinary examination of Left Standing failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.