DOOM DEC 26 - MILITARY ROSE STILL UNBEATEN

By Graham Potter | Sunday, December 27, 2009

Doomben, December 26, 2009.
Track - Slow 6. Rail - out 5m.
BJ McLachlan Stakes Plate (2yo - Listed) - 1200m. Time: 1-11.46.
1 Military Rose; 2 Marking Time; 3 Startsmeup.

Trainer Gillian Heinrich has seen plenty in her time. She seldom gets that excited, but both the win and the manner in which Military Rose maintained her unbeaten record here had Heinrich beaming with the satisfaction of a job well done and a sense of anticipation for the upcoming shot at Magic Millions glory.

Military Rose will go to Magic Millions with a record of three wins from three starts. Her first two wins were achieved with measured on pace runs where she dictated the course of events from the front. This win was of quite a different nature, not because of any change of tactics, but rather because circumstances dictated that the filly would be posed a different test, namely coming from off the speed against the toughest opposition she had yet faced. Her response to the challenge is what excited Heinrich.

Military Rose was slow away. Jockey Stathi Katsidis quickly rallied his mount up to midfield. The filly then progressed to just a little bit better than midfield, but she was racing in congested company with little free galloping room which hindered her passage.

Military Rose cornered for home in seventh place, out five wide on the track some six to seven lengths off the leader. Paris Blu and Startsmeup shared the lead on straightening with Marking Time sitting on their heels poised to strike.

Startsmeup got the better of a protracted battle with Paris Blu with 180m left to run, but no sooner had he gained a narrow advantage then he, in turn, was tackled by Marking Time. The latter seemed to have done everything right and he hit the front at seemingly the perfect time, but Katsidis now had Military Rose in full cry as the widest runner in the straight and she arrived in the way only a good horse can do to snare Marking Time in the final strides to land an impressive victory.

The placed runners must also take full credit in defeat. Marking Time was only a long head away from taking out the result after having maintained a sustained run. Startsmeup confirmed the impression from a week ago that he is clearly a well above average runner while the fourth placed Demanding Miss made significant late headway when angling in for a run before being forced to ease late when carried further off a straight line by Startsmeup in the concluding stages.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Gillian Heinrich: “How versatile is that ... she can lead or come from behind. That is so exciting. That is so exciting!

In the Magic Millions it doesn’t really matter now whether she draws the barrier she needs to go forward or if she gets back. She’s shown she can do it both ways and I’m over the moon with her. Absolutely.

“No, it wasn’t the plan to ride her more quietly today. Stathi (Katsidis) and I had a talk before the race and we said, if she doesn’t lead she’ll be sitting second or third ... you know, we won’t panic.

“Like Stathi said, she was a little bit slow away so it didn’t pan out that way. Unfortunately something went wrong at the jump and you’re thinking, oh my God ... but the way she went about dealing with that just proved she is a very nice filly. When she got back I was thinking, ok we’ll see how good she is and whether we are a genuine Magic Millions chance, which obviously we are.

“It is all systems go for two weeks time.”

Jockey Stathi Katsidis: “Now you know she has got options in the Millions. She can sit forward or back.

“We just said that before the race ... she seems to be bullet proof. She does everything you ask of her. I just liked how she looked. She looked so good today. I mean before the race. She looked good and she was just so happy within herself.

“She copped a lot ... she got smashed for about 300m. This horse was just getting pounded left, right and centre. I thought, jeez ... she couldn’t win now ... she’s just been smashed from pillar to post. It was a pretty rough race.

“Once I peeled to the outside, Shane (Scriven on Marking Time) thought I was on his back, but he got away and I didn’t think I could win from there, but she picked him up.

“She’s completed three hurdles today and did it in brilliant fashion. At one stage down the straight it looked like she was only going to run second, but she dug deep to find some reserves I didn’t even know were there myself. She is definitely Magic Millions material.

“It’s ninety percent confirmed that I will be riding her, but I just have to speak to my manager.”

PLACEGETTER FEEDBACK:
Alan Bailey (trainer of Marking Time who finished second): “You know, it is always hard to beat those fillies with their bit of weight advantage (the 2kg sex allowance).

“I thought he did a good job. It is a month since he’s had a run. I’d hope he’ll improve a little bit in the fortnight before that run in the Magic Millions. He was as fit as we could get to go into the race today, but the race today will really top him right off.

“He’s got a couple of weeks to that race and hopefully we’ll be there to attack them.”

Bruce Hill (Trainer of Startsmeup who finished third): “He went terrific. He wasn’t happy in the ground, but to his credit he stuck to his guns really well. He is a very strong horse. We’ve got a couple of weeks now, so he should be pretty right come the day. All he wants is a dry track ... a good draw always helps, but as long as we get a dry track we’ll be happy.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Military Rose): 4.00 in to 3.50.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Bouzy Rouge (C. Reith) was tightened for room at the start between Startsmeup (J. Byrne) and Whippy Van (D. Nikolic), which shifted out.

Ghostnthedarkness (L. Cassidy) shifted out at the start, taking Demanding Miss (J. Bowditch) out on to the hind quarters of Ringa Ringa Rosie. Ghostnthedarkness then shifted in, resulting in Military Rose (S. Katsidis) having to be steadied when tightened for room between that horse and Marking Time (S. Scriven). Ghostnthedarkness shifted out again shortly after the start, resulting in Demanding Miss and Ringa Ringa Rosie having to be steadied when forced across the heels of Extreme Mover.

Approaching the 800m, Mundi Gully (D. Whitmore) had to be eased to avoid the heels of Whippy Van (D. Nikolic), which was taken in by Military Rose (S. Katsidis), which in turn was taken in by Marking Time, which shifted in and away from Jantzen (J. Taylor), which shifted in slightly when being restrained.

After passing the 800m, both Whippy Van (D. Nikolic) and Military Rose were severely hampered when racing tight to the inside of Marking Time, which was also tightened for room when taken in by Jantzen, which was racing tight to the inside of Ghostnthedarkness. Mundi Gully, which was traililng, was obliged to take evasive action outwards, forcing Demanding Miss and Ringa Ringa Rosie (M. Cahill) wider on the track. Stewards, in consideration of the evidence before them, were not able to apportion blame to any one rider and therefore took no action.

Over the concluding stages, Startsmeup (J. Byrne) shifted in, taking Demanding Miss inwards, resulting in that horse having to be steadied near the finish line when tightened for room between that horse and Paris Blu (A. Pattillo).

B. Shinn, rider of Extreme Mover, reported that, in his opinion, the gelding failed to handle today's rain affected track. A post-race veterinary examination of Extreme Mover revealed the horse to be exhibiting a slower than normal post race recovery rate.

Stewards sought an explanation from M. Cahill regarding the seemingly disappointing performance of Ringa Ringa Rosie. M. Cahill stated that the filly did not feel comfortable in the early stages and he was forced to ride the horse aggressively in order to hold a position in the field. M. Cahill added that the horse was under pressure well before the home turn and failed to respond to his riding and could only attribute the horse's performance to the wet track conditions.

Trainer B. Laming concurred with M. Cahill's assessment and advised stewards that he intended to continue on with the filly's preparation towards the Magic Millions 2-Year-Old Classic. A post-race veterinary examination of Ringa Ringa Rosie failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.