PLACING THEM WHERE THEY CAN WIN - AND WHEN YOU GET JUICY ODDS THAT IS JUST A BONUS

By Graham Potter | Saturday, December 17, 2022

As always with the Tony and Maddysen Sears training partnership, horses go where the stable thinks they have their best chance of winning ... and, just twenty minutes after the Sears trained Singapore Lady had saluted at the Gold Coast, Straight Alphas made it a stable double for the day when she won by an emphatic two length margin in a QTIS Maiden Plate over 1200m at Esk on December 17.

Just like Singapore Lady, Straight Alphas came into her race on the back of two second place finishes (at Warwick over 800m and at Toowoomba over 1000m) and, again, she similarly stepped up in distance to 1200m.

Just how Straight Alphas, a Spirit Of Boom filly going to a non-Tab meeting, started as the rank outsider in the field at a starting price of $16, will remain the only real mystery of the race.

As for the running of the race itself, it was just easy pickings for Straight Alphas.

Jockey Cecily Eaton jumped Straight Alphas out smartly, but the $7.50 chance Hot Or Not was going to lead at all costs and the latter charged away to open up a lead of between three and four lengths in the first half of the race.

Eaton always had Straight Alphas tracking that one in a fairly lonely second place as the rest of the field struggled to keep up with the leaders.

It was already clear quite early that the tearaway tactics of Hot Or Not was going to take its toll on that runner and, when Eaton and Straight Alphas started to close ground and apply pressure to Hit Or Not at the 250m mark, it was quickly ‘race over’ as the Sears trained runner surged away, basically to win as she liked, never being troubled at all in the run home.

Again, this was an example of a horse being very well placed by the stable with Straight Alphas getting the monkey off her back by winning for the first time at her ninth attempt.