ELEUTHERA WINS AT LONG ODDS

By Graham Potter | Thursday, December 22, 2022

Eleuthera has been a more than useful mare over a fair period of time for the Tony and Maddysen Sears training partnership and the daughter of Red Dazzler landed her fifth career win when she claimed victory in a BM65 Handicap over 1535m at Ipswich on December 22.

Eleuthera was second-up here and was unwanted in the betting, starting at $14 after drifting out from $9.50, following her ordinary showing when resuming on December 10 after a five month break from racing action.

That first-up run was over 1300m and the step up to 1535m was always going to be a move in the right direction (Eleuthera has won up to 1800m). That, and the fact that she would have taken obvious benefit out of that first-up run meant that Eleuthera was well placed by the Sears team at this stage of her latest preparation in what was essentially an open race in which the favourite started at $4.40.

Eleuthera was not the best away and Jake Molley had to push the five-year-old out early to get her into racing mode before she eventually settled just worse than midfield, some five to six lengths off the leader.

That deficit was down to three lengths as the field packed up in the sweep to the home turn with Molloy and Eleuthera saving ground, but the real problem for Eleuthera emerged on straightening where the Sears trained runner turned with a wall of horses in front of him.

Molloy then made a race winning decision.

Firstly, he stayed on the inside, thus again making sure his mount didn’t cover unnecessary ground, and secondly, he got onto the back of He Is ($11) who was racing into contention and travelling the best of the horses in front of Eleuthera.

As He Is surged forward into the lead, a gap opened up between He is and the tiring early leader Hail To the Chief ($5.50) and that was all the invitation Eleuthera needed, but there was still work to do.

With He is in full flight and with Eleuthera still left with 1.50 lengths to make up over the concluding stages, Eleuthera had to really dig in to earn the result, and she did that in what turned out to be an inch perfect ride by Molloy with Eleuthera taking the measure of He Is in the closing strides.

That’s five wins and six minor placings for Eleuthera now with $115 825 banked in prize-money.

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