GCST JAN 02 - BACK-TO-BACK WINS FOR KISANI

By Graham Potter | Monday, January 4, 2010

Gold Coast, January 2, 2010,
Track - Dead 5. Rail - True.
Class 6 Handicap (Fillies & Mares) - 1200m. Time: 1-10.49 (carrying 55.5kg).
1 Kisani; 2 Seething Duck; 3 Tootsie Zynsky.

The Trevor Bailey trained Kisani made it back-to-back wins when she came home in untroubled fashion to win by a comfortable two length margin. Both of Kisani’s recent wins have come over the 1200m trip at the Gold Coast.

Drawn wide, Kisani didn’t waste any energy on trying to overcome the disadvantage of her wide barrier. Rather, under instructions, jockey Daniel Griffin allowed the mare to run her own race and settled her into a comfortable rhythm in midfield, albeit always trapped three to four wide in the running.

Kisani cornered in six spot out five wide on the track. The five-year-old took a moment to change gears, but when she lengthened her stride it soon became clear she was travelling that well that she would have her race won long before she crossed the line.

Kisani got to the front inside the final 200m. The favourite Calm Before threatened briefly but failed to go on with it. Seething Duck came out of the pack to try to challenge Kisani, but she was always only going to get second placing as Kisani closed out the contest with the minimum of fuss to land an impressive victory.

This was only the tenth start for the lightly raced five-year-old. Kisani has now won four times and also has three minor placings to her credit.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Trevor Bailey: “I was confident today. No, I never thought she would get beat today. The wet track yesterday and that ... they cut in up a little bit on the inside and we had no worries (from the wide draw). The middle of the track was probably the best place to be today.

“I said to Daniel (Griffin) today, don’t worry about it ... just take her back and ride her quietly and just leave her for one run in the straight.

“You’ve got to remember she’s running in a Class 6 today and you might think she is up in class, but she only just got beat in the Gai Waterhouse during the carnival ... so that’s a big plus isn’t it? In the couple of runs after that we tried to push her ... like everybody, all trainers and owners you start to think, how far can we go ... how far can we go ... and you start pushing them up in distance.

“I said to the owner after the win the other day I said, I think probably 1200m to 1300m might be her go. She sits off them and then just sprints too quick. She proved that again today. She might still get 1300m or 1400m, but you push her any further then you sort of lose that brilliant sprint she’s got. I mean she’s run home in 35.1 today on a rain affected track. You can’t do much better than that can you?”

Jockey Daniel Griffin: “Mate, it was as easy as it looked. Trev (Bailey) just said, don’t panic if she covers a bit of ground ... just get cover. She got a beautiful run and when I asked her she really let down strong.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Kisani): 7.00 out to 7.50 in to 6.00.
Favourite (Calm Before): 4.60 in to 3.60 out to 4.20. Finished fifth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Welcome Site (P. Hammersley) jumped in the start and lost ground. A short distance after the start Welcome Site and Calm Before (J. Byrne) made contact on several occasions.

Near the 300m M. Cahill the rider of Seething Duck accidentally dropped his whip. Je Ne Sais Pas (S. Seamer), Kisani (D. Griffin) and Tootsie Zynsky all raced wide throughout the event.

App D. Ganderton (Manhattan Angel) was reminded of his obligations to ride his mounts to the line.

Stewards sought an explanation from App D. Ganderton in respect to his riding of Manhattan Angel from a point near the 500m. App Ganderton explained that near the 500m he attempted to position Manhattan Angel to the outside of Jester Rumble as he was of the opinion that the best part of the track was three to four horses wide, however he was unable to do so due to Tootsie Zynsky racing tightly to his outside.

App Ganderton stated that he attempted to save ground back towards the fence however, said that Manhattan Angel was unable to quicken in what he described as an inferior section of the track and whilst it appeared he had difficulty securing clear running on Manhattan Angel over the final 300m the filly only found the line fairly.

Stewards sought an explanation in respect of the tactics employed on Tootsie Zynsky. R. McMahon stated that he had been instructed to ride the horse forward as is its usual racing pattern however, after Tootsie Zynsky jumped away awkwardly he was reluctant to ride his mount aggressively as he was of the opinion he would be forced to race wide and instead he endeavoured to position the mare where it was comfortable as best he could. R. McMahon further added that he was obliged to race wide throughout and that Tootsie Zynsky had found the line well in the home straight.

Following the running of this event B. Stewart was examined by the Club's doctor and stood down from his remaining rides.