DOOM DEC 26 - GUNDY SON SHOWS TRUE GRIT

By Graham Potter | Monday, December 28, 2009

Doomben, December 26, 2009
Track - Slow 6. Rail - out 5m.
NMW Handicap (C, G & E) - 1350m. Time: 1-20.49.
1 Gundy Son; 2 Black Dakota; 3 Lucky Omens.

Gundy Son had it all to do here. Saddled with the steadying burden of 58kg and asked to jump from the second row of the car-park, the gelding was always going to have his work cut out even before he got around to dealing with the best of the opposition.

Sometimes you have to trust your horse’s ability to overcome difficult circumstances and jockey Dan Nikolic did just that. Instead of being defensive and conservative in his approach Nikolic took the fight to the opposition, happy to test any weaknesses in their make-up.

Unable to get in from the wide draw, Nikolic took Gundy Son forward to sit three wide outside Equates and Stature who set the early tempo. A further bold move by Nikolic approaching the turn put Gundy Son right up alongside the leader Stature as the field straightened.

Most important of all was the fact that as these two leaders set sail for home at the top of the straight, they were suddenly a little over two lengths clear of the nearest of the chasing pack. That early dash ... the opening up of a useful advantage ... would be an important factor in the end result.

Stature stayed with Gundy Son until the 180m mark, but even a favourable 4.5kg pull at the weights with the Heathcote runner wasn’t enough to keep him in contention. With 120m left to run Gundy Son had pulled himself into a clear lead and it looked as if nobody was coming on fast enough from behind to threaten his winning status.

Black Dakota was quick to challenge that theory. Fourth last and well out of his ground on the turn, Black Dakota initially knocked heads with Bretonneux when trying to make his run. These two runners made contact a couple of times between the 300m and 200m marks before Black Dakota swooped down the outside of the track with a sustained run. He found an extra gear inside the final 100m to flash up late to almost surprise Gundy Son on the line as the latter got home by a short-head.

Lucky Omens also made up ground late, although not with the same momentum as Black Dakota. Lucky Omens had to angle out for a run to pass Stature in the closing stages and he came home strongly to claim third place, just a long-neck behind the second placed Black Dakota.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Robert Heathcote: “I think he is a little bit better than a nice horse. I think today he showed that. He carried 58kg sitting outside the speed all the way on a rain affected track. He is by Falvelon and they don’t generally handle wet tracks. He had an outside barrier. He was caught wide ... the saddle slipped as well. Full credit to the horse. He is the best horse in the race that’s why he had the 58kg.

“It was a lovely ride by Dan (Nikolic). When you have got a rider of his calibre, they just know when to balance them up and he balanced him up nice. He was obviously happy to be there and he timed his sprint at the right time ... so it was a lovely effort to hold them off.”

“He’ll go to the Magic Millions now ... Class 6 ... 1200m. We’ve got to freshen him up a touch and then bring him back to 1200m. He’s going to be very competitive.”

Jockey Danny Nikolic: “Yeah, he began very well. I think the track probably is just a bit better out a little bit wider anyway. He did a very good job. He had 58kg’s on his back. He had no cover.

“The saddle slipped on him after we’d gone about 200 ... 300m. I was quite awkward on him and I didn’t want him going any harder than he did. He actually relaxed quite well outside the leaders. It was a good solid effort because most other horses would have got run over with that sort of weight.

“So, as I say, given that he had plenty of weight ... didn’t have the ideal run ... and the saddle had slipped mid-race ... so he had a bit against him today and he still able to hold them off. It was a very good effort.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Gundy Son): 3.20 steady.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Monashee Warrior (R. Wiggins) was slow to begin. Lucky Omens (S. Katsidis) and King Of Spirit (Matthew Palmer) and Monashee Warrior were tightened for room shortly after the start between Roller Drum (C. McIver) and Stature (J. Holder), which shifted in.

Near the 350m, Black Dakota (C. Reith) shifted out to obtain clear running, resulting in Eleventh Command (C. Gilby) having to be steadied to avoid that horse's heels.

Leaving the 300m, Bretonneux (J. Taylor) and Black Dakota (C. Reith) made contact on several occasions. Lucky Omens was held up and unable to improve rounding the home turn. Telfire (A. Pattillo) was unable to secure clear running over the concluding stages. Bretonneux (J. Taylor) and Heartsun (M. Cahill) raced wide for the majority of the event.

C. Reith, rider of Black Dakota, pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding in that approaching the winning post he allowed his mount to shift in when insufficiently clear of Bretonneux, resulting in Bretonneux being taken in on to Monashee Warrior, resulting in that horse having to be checked when tightened for room between Bretonneux and Red Story.

C. Reith was suspended from riding in races for a period covered by 6 meetings, to commence midnight, 28 December and to expire at midnight, 6 January 2009.

J. Byrne reported that I'm Ruthless hung out throughout the event, and upon straightening when he was attempting to obtain a run to the inside of Thundershot (M. Speers), the horse continued to hang out across the heels of Thundershot, resulting in him having to take hold of I'm Ruthless. J. Byrne further added that once he was able to straighten and balance the horse in the straight it finished the race off well although he had to momentarily take hold of the horse near the finish line when runners forward were racing tight.

A post-race veterinary examination of I'm Ruthless revealed the horse to be lame in both fore-legs. Trainer T. Hall indicated that the horse would now be sent for a spell. T. Hall was advised that he must provide a veterinary clearance for the horse prior to its next race start.

An initial veterinary examination of Equates, which lost ground quickly from the top of the straight and collapsed nearing the winning post, revealed the gelding had suffered heart failure.