DOOM JAN 26 - PURR OF GLORY RUNS DOWN REDIBIS

By Graham Potter | Thursday, January 28, 2010

Doomben, January 26, 2010.
Track - Good 2. Rail - out 0.5m.
QTIS Handicap (3yo) - 1200m. Time: 1-09.39. (Carrying 56,5kg).
1 Purr Of Glory; 2 Redibis; 3rd - Sheldon.

The Kelly Schweida trained Purr Of Glory enhanced her reputation when claiming her third win from only four starts by outgunning the more experienced Redibis in a driving finish.

It was a solid victory set up by a smart start, a confident mid-race run sitting just off the speed and a determined, character building finish.

For all that though, there was plenty that could have gone wrong early in the straight and jockey Jim Byrne and Purr Of Glory had to exactly on the same wavelength to find the path to victory.

Purr Of Glory straightened in third place, hard on the rail, behind the front-running Redibis and Redbolt. With Redibis drifting off the rail slightly and Redbolt racing on the outside of Purr To Glory, Byrne’s first option was to have a look at a possible run on the inside of the leader.

When he thought better of that option, Byrne switched Purr Of Glory out off the heels of Redibis. Purr Of Glory managed to brush her way past a weakening Redbolt with ease, but the chase to reel in Redibis was more of a challenge.

Purr Of Glory responded well to her task though and she started making inroads into Redibis’ lead before finding an extra gear inside the final 100m to sweep to victory.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Kelly Schweida: “No, I had no worries about the 1200m. She was fit enough to run 1200m.

“She’s been ready to run for about three weeks now. She was in a meeting here that got washed out on a Monday. Then she drew the twenty alley a week ago. She drew ten out of ten on Saturday. So, she’s been ready to run for a while. She’s been off her head she’s been that keen to go. I said to Jimmy (Byrne), don’t worry about her being fit.

“I was a bit concerned when he (Jim Byrne) when he went to go for a run on the fence, but she was good enough.

“She’s a QTIS horse, so we’ll just chase a few of those. We’ll just see where she takes us ... if she is good enough for the Winter Carnival or not.”

Jockey Jim Byrne: “She was nominated for Saturday. Like it was a pretty tough race on Saturday, but the main reason she was scratched was that she drew wide and you kinda knew that you were going to be out there cutting the breeze by yourself. All things considered this was an easier option.

“You got to understand. Kelly (Schweida) does such a good job with his horses. He knows them pretty much back to front. He was always confident she was going to run a good, strong 1200m. Sure enough, he told me she was very hard. She was definitely hard enough for her first-up assignment. I was always confident in my own mind she would run a strong six.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Purr Of Glory): 5.50 in to 5.00.
Favourite (Redibis): 3.20 out to 3.70 in to 3.60.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Secrets (App M. Palmer) and Erinsea (C. Reith) were both tightened on jumping away between Huckleberry Dane (L. Cassidy) and Redbolt (J. Taylor), both of which shifted ground.

Near the 500m Thunder Lane (App J. Wood), which was under pressure to hold its position, had to be momentarily steadied when tightened for room between Huckleberry Dane and Sheldon (B. Pengelly), which shifted out in order to improve its position.

Shortly after straightening Double Lines (A. Spinks) had to be checked when attempting a doubtful run between Startling Pleasure (R. McMahon) and Racing Heart (S. Katsidis), which shifted out under pressure.

Racing Heart (S. Katsidis) was caught wide for the majority.

App J. Wood the rider of Thunder Lane reported to stewards that throughout the event he was forced to ride Thunder Lane aggressively in order to hold a position and indicated to connections that he feels the horse requires blinkers.

L. Cassidy the rider of Huckleberry Dane was reprimanded under the provisions of AR137A5(a)(i) for using his whip in successive strides prior to the 100m.