EF DEC 19 - BIG DEBUT WIN FOR STARTSMEUP

By Graham Potter | Monday, December 21, 2009

Doomben, December 19, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 3m.
2yo QTIS 600 Handicap - 1110m. Time: 1-04.187.
1 Startsmeup; 2 Sticksy; 3 Big Ken The Celt.

Debut runs don’t come more impressive than this.

Trainer Bruce Hill unveiled a lively prospect here in the form of first-timer Startsmeup who dominated proceedings form start to finish to post an outstanding debut win.

The only anxious moment the connections of Startsmeup had was when the gelding dropped jockey Paul Hammersley on the way to the start. Both horse and rider were passed fit to run after that incident and that decision basically decided the contest as nobody else came close to being able to match Startsmeuop’s race winning effort on the day.

The son of Danzero was always in control. He jumped liked an old-stager who had been racing all of his life. He let Sticksy lead briefly, but then quickly dismissed that one to a lesser role. He allowed Craiglea Rapper a moment in the spotlight, when the gelding moved up into second behind Startsmeup, before shrugging off that challenge approaching the turn where he already had the entire field chasing hard.

... and they were chasing in vain. The further they went the bigger the margin Startsmeup was going to win by. As it turned out the judge called a halt to the contest with Startsmeup four lengths clear of the second placed runner.

It was a cakewalk, but no armchair ride given the effects of the tumble Hammersley had taken on the way to the barriers. The rider looked decidedly uncomfortable on his return to scale (he was stood down for the remainder of the meeting), but he and his mount had got the job done and Startsmeup’s career had been launched in style.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Bruce Hill: “He’s shown us something from day one. He is a very strong horse ... a very tough horse. Yeah, there was that moment going to the start (when Startsmeup dislodged jockey Paul Hammersley). Paul was lying on the ground when I got there and I said, get up and get on the horse.

“I was going to run him last week, but Paul got suspended and I didn’t want to take him off because he’d done all the work on the horse. No, he is a real nice horse. You do have to be careful with him. He is a big strong bugger and sometimes he wants to go too hard, you know. We’ve just taken our time with him. He is a Magic Millions horse and we’ll aim him for the Millions. If we get there, we get there. If we don’t ... well it doesn’t matter. We’ve still got a decent horse, you know.”

Jockey Paul Hammersley: “Yeah, he was always in control in the race. He wasn’t looking the nicest horse going to the gates when he dropped me, but he did it well from the get-go.

“He jumped well. He travelled well. He couldn’t have done any better. You know he’s a good horse the way he ran away from them.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Startsmeup): 4.80 out to 5.00.
Favourite (Sequano): 3.20 out to 3.40. Finished fourth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
P. Hammersley, who was dislodged from Startsmeup during the preliminary, was examined by the ambulance officers and cleared to fulfill his engagement.

Path To Freedom (T. Angland) was tightened for room at the start between Seven Wonders (B. Stewart) and Big Ken The Celt (S. Katsidis), which shifted in. Rumoroso (A. Pattillo) was tightened for room at the start between Raise Up (J. Byrne) and Craiglea Rapper (K. Wharton), when both horses shifted ground. Craiglea Rapper and Sequano (S. Scriven) were both slow to begin.

Near the 200m, Sequano, which had been held up for clear running, shifted out to obtain clear running and in doing so made contact with Seven Wonders (B. Stewart), which in turn shifted out, bumping Path To Freedom. Paris Blu (M. Speers) and Raise up raced wide throughout.

A post-race veterinary examination of Seven Wonders failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.

Following this event, P. Hammersley was examined by the club's doctor and stood down from his remaining engagements.