EF DEC 12 - DUAL CHAMBER LETS THEM HAVE IT WITH BOTH BARRELS

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Eagle Farm, December 12, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 1m.
Gold Edition Plate (3yo - Set Weights) - 1200m. Time: 1-09.75.
1 Dual Chamber; 2 Princess Qualo; 3 Choistar.

The winning odds (51.00) said it was a boil-over. Stewards invited the trainer in for a ‘please explain’ session ... but the truth of the matter is there was little mystery about Dual Chamber winning at long odds.

Firstly, two horses dominated the betting. Princess Qualo, a last start winner on the move, and Temple Of Boom, who finished second to Princess Qualo last time out, were punted in the expectation that they would renew their close rivalry and that they had the wood on their opposition.

The weight of money for these two runners, plus the fact that bookmakers didn’t want to gamble too much with two other promising horses in the form of Shoot Out and Captain Sonador, meant that bookmakers could lengthen the odds of some of the longer-priced runners, such as Dual Chamber who drifted out from 31.00 to 51.00.

That price, irrespective of any result Dual Chamber gained, was clearly an exaggerated blow-out as the Maryann Thexton trained three-year-old had far more to offer than that price suggested and she had at least four good reasons to claim a shout at taking out the honours.

Firstly, Dual Chamber was racing second-up following a five-and-a-half month layoff. It is natural to suppose she would have taken some benefit from her first-up outing and would strip a more competitive force here.

Secondly, Dual Chamber raced from the widest draw when resuming (eighteen out of eighteen). This time she had a good draw.

Thirdly, there was a gear change on Dual Chamber. Gear changes are normally made with the intention of improving performance. Nothing is guaranteed, but the intention is sometimes realised. Dual Chamber had the tongue-tie off for the first time.

... and lastly, as ever, there was the form of Dual Chamber to consider. In her last two runs before being spelled at the end of her two-year-old season, Dual Chamber finished second in the Sir Douglas Wadley (Listed) behind Kiss Me Katy (who went on to campaign in Sydney) and finished fourth in the Australia Post (Listed) behind Shellscrape and Carrara.

Shellscrape went on to win in both Group 3 and Group 2 company in Sydney before running second in the Group 1 Coolmore Stakes at Flemington. For his part, after the Australia Post Stakes, Carrara went back to Melbourne and won three races on the trot (two Listed races and a Group 2 event) and then went on to run second to Starspangledbanner in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas.

This is not to suggest that an inactive Dual Chamber would have progressed in a similar vein. The combination of the facts outlined above though highlights the fact that Dual Chamber was never a 51.00 chance. The shock/horror was not so much the result, but rather it was about how much the chestnut paid for a win.

Of course is it always easy to be wise after the event. The quality of the opposition and the strong support for a couple of improving, in-form runners meant you would still have had to take a leap of faith to back Dual Chamber, but the lesson is there to not just dismiss a runner because of his or her place on the betting boards. Sometimes the price is not right!

For the record Dual Chamber had to win the race on her own merits as she prevailed in a pressurised finish to thwart the gamble on Princess Qualo by a long-head with Choistar only a half-neck back in third place.

Jockey Danny Craven positioned Dual Chamber on the rail in midfield in the early part as Decryption led Our Mr Cashman at the head of affairs. The two leaders were followed by Temple Of Boom who, in turn, was tracked by Princess Qualo as the two main fancies were both ridden in confident fashion, close up behind the speed.

Dual Chamber turned for home in eighth place. She almost made contact with the rail on straightening, but then set about her business with meaning. Traffic problems look likely to play a part in her challenge, but Craven had her up on the heels of Temple Of Boom and Princess Qualo as the money horses surged to the front with 180m left to run.

With his mount full of running, Craven then pushed Dual Chamber through the gap between Princess Qualo, who was running on strongly, and Temple Of Boom, who was under pressure, to race into contention inside the final 100m. Princess Qualo tried valiantly to peg back Dual Chamber but the momentum was now in favour of the Thexton trained runner who snared Princess Qualo to get home to land a hard-earned win.

WINNERS FEEDBACK:
Trainer Maryann Thexton: “I decided to back her up after her run last week (when finishing unplaced, first-up in the Mode Stakes at Eagle Farm). It is always a gamble with a filly like that, but I said, if she draws a bad alley we won’t run. If she draws a good alley we will. It ended up being a good decision.

“She really had to show something today to keep going at this level, playing A-Grade. For sure, it was quite a strong field and I guess the public lost confidence in the filly after her last start, but if you look at her runs as a two-year-old she’s played A-Grade all the way through. She has never run in a Maiden race and she has only been beaten a couple of lengths by the likes of Shellscrape, Cararra ... those sort of horses, so she is right up to it if she is on her game.

“Sadly, she is not Magic Millions qualified so we’ll be watching from the grandstand that day. She’s got plenty of nice racing ahead of her. She might look to something bigger and better in the autumn. There are plenty of options.”

Jockey Danny Craven: “I always knew I was going to be in the finish. I just had to wait a bit longer than I wanted to ... to get a run. Ended up going back on the inside and got a run through. I knew I was going to catch Princess Qualo as soon as I got the run through there. It was a very good effort on her part.

“Before the race Maryann (Thexton) said to me, I’ve got a very good opinion of this horse. I said to her now when I got off the horse, I’ve got a very good opinion of it too.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Dual Chamber): 31.00 out to 51.00.
Favourite (Temple Of Boom): 3.80 out to 4.00 in to 3.50.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Captain Sonador, which cast its near-fore plate in its float en route to the course, was examined by the club's veterinary surgeon and cleared to race. Noisy Scooter (K. O'Hara) was slow to begin.

Near the 700m, Princess Qualo (L. Cassidy) shifted to one off the fence resulting in Tierqualo (M. Palmer) being obliged to race three wide for the remainder of the race.

Near the 300m, Choistar (B. Pengelly) shifted out to obtain clear running and in doing so made contact with Spot On Target (J. Byrne). Emma's Heart (A. Spinks) was held up for clear running in the straight and near the 200m had to be steadied away from the heels of Tierqualo (M. Palmer) and shifted in.

Near the 100m, Captain Sonador (S. Seamer) and Dual Chamber bumped when both horses attempted a similar run between Temple Of Boom (M. Cahill) and Princess Qualo (L. Cassidy). When Temple Of Boom shifted out, S. Seamer, rider of Captain Sonador, then had to switch across the heels of Temple Of Boom to gain clear running. Noisy Scooter (K. O'Hara) raced ungenerously throughout the event.

When questioned regarding the seemingly improved performance of Dual Chamber, trainer M. Thexton stated that at its most recent start at Doomben, when first up from a spell, the horse was obliged to settle back in the field from the wide barrier. Jockey M. Palmer reported to her following the race that, in his opinion, the horse did not appreciate being ridden in this manner and as a consequence lost interest and failed to finish the race off.

Mrs Thexton added that due to the horse being fractious during the application of the tongue-tie at its previous start, she had removed it today and felt that this may have contributed to the horse's improved performance.

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