MIZOBE CATCHES THE EYE AT SUNSHINE COAST

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Last year, on December 11, apprentice jockey Kazuki Mizobe rode his first TAB winner at the Sunshine Coast ... then his second winner ... then his third winner.

After the first three races on the card that day Mizobe already had a treble in the bank. Fittingly, he opened his account on the Barry Gill trained Brennan, a 21-1 shot, as Mizobe is attached to the Gill stable.

Mizobe also scored aboard Agent Blue (for Peter Fleming) and Rajeena (for Steven Thomas). He finished unplaced in his fourth and last ride for the day.

Fast forward six weeks and the rider was again to the fore when he teamed up with Agent Blue to complete back to back wins on the three-year-old gelding. Mizobe’s stats for the day once again were impressive. One winner, two seconds and a third placing means he finished in the money in one hundred percent of his rides.

The win on Agent Blue was the highlight, but his ride to get Craiglea Astra into third spot in the opening event on the card drew almost as much attention as his winning effort.

An extract from the Stewards Report from that race reads: ‘Leaving the 1200m, the saddle on Craiglea Astra shifted forward, placing its rider K. Mizobe at a disadvantage for the remainder of the race.’

It was more than a disadvantage. The rider was in some strife. Several options immediately came to mind and Mizobe would have been forgiven had he taken any of them. Pull the horse wide and just get out of the way. Pull the horse up completely ... or maybe just complete the circuit in his own time tailed off behind the field.

Mizobe did none of these things. He chose to keep on riding the race as best he could in difficult circumstances ... and his reason for doing so is refreshing.

“I don’t know how I did stay on the horse,” explained Misobe, “but I thought I could stay on a little bit. So I tried. The owner wants to get prize money and if I didn’t try he would not get any. So I tried hard.

“I’ve been with Barry Gill ... maybe a half year now, but I had a couple of months off with injury. I broke my arm here (showing the scar). It was on my first morning in Gympie at track-work and I fell off and broke my arm. So I was not riding for a while ... but it is good now.”

Sunshine Coast, January 22, 2010.
Cushion Track.
Class 1 Handicap (C, G & E) - 1000m. 1-00.28. (Carrying 51.5kg).
1 Agent Blue; 2 Exploretheworld; 3 Arrebato.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Peter Fleming: “He’s very green ... he’s just got to learn how to race. I think he’s got a bit of ability.

“I bred him myself. I trained his mother. She was a very fast horse. He was a late November foal. We’ve been pretty patient with him. He hit the line well. Not many have been making ground from behind like that today. I’m very happy with him.

“His mother couldn’t get further than a 1000m really, but this fella ... I think he will run a mile eventually. He led all of the way last time (over 1400m), but he had a very strong kick when they straightened up. He did a lot wrong. He hung all the way. There’s a lot of improvement in him.

“Yeah, we did go to town two runs back. It was just part of his education. He got lost here (at the Sunshine Coast) in his first start. He didn’t know where he was going or what he was doing. Then I trialled him here and he went pretty ordinary too, so he’s just taken a bit of time.”

Apprentice jockey Kazubi Mizobe: “I got caught a little bit wide and I couldn’t cross. I’ve won him before and I knew what he does. I knew he can gallop ... he can. So he finished very well.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Agent Blue) 9.00 out to 10.00.
Favourite (Red Raiders): 1.65 steady. Finished fourth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Agent Blue (K. Mizobe) was slow to begin. Seven Dwarfs (M. Wood) and Exploretheworld (M. Morris) bumped on jumping away. Princeoftheplaza (C. Kearney) raced wide throughout.

When questioned regarding the performance of Aston, jockey J. Byrne stated that the gelding travelled well in the early and middle stages, however when placed under pressure, the gelding failed to respond to his riding and proved disappointing. He added that Aston may not have been suited by today's race surface. A post-race veterinary examination of Aston failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.

When questioned, S. Katsidis explained that Red Raiders began well today and was able to obtain a position midfield with cover. He further added that Red Raiders travelled fairly throughout and, although finishing 4th, he was of the view that the horse finished the race off well, and would be better suited to distances longer than today's event. Stewards recorded his explanation.

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