EF FEB 13 - HUFF AND PUFF GETS IT RIGHT

By Graham Potter | Monday, February 15, 2010

Eagle Farm, February 13, 2010.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 1m.
QTIS 2yo Handicap - 1000m. Time: 58.33. (Carrying 56kg).
1 Huff And Puff; 2 Adebisi; 3 Craiglea Royale.

Some get it right. Some get it wrong.

The David Lawlor trained Huff And Puff got it right, producing a spirited all the way performance to score his first win in his second career start.

Jockey Anthony Erhart made sure the gelding took maximum advantage from his number one barrier draw by railing up strongly to hold the inside position in a line of three with Pixiu and Done All Done until the turn.

Erhart increased the pressure on his rivals on straightening. Done All Done was the first to cry enough (his jockey lost the whip early in the straight). Pixiu kept fighting, but Huff And Puff always had that one covered in the run home. In the end Pixiu would weaken late to be beaten out of the placings.

Huff And Puff continued to produce a professional performance all the way down the straight showing great resolve to maintain his effort when tested all the way to the line.

The favourite Adebisi made the best of a troubled run to come away with a runner-up finish while
Craiglea Royale, who went back to the inside, finished off well enough to earn third place without seriously threatening the winner.

The winning margin was 1.30 lengths.

Some get it wrong ... and things all went awry here for the $1.60 favourite Adebisi.

After a fast start, just five strides into the race the horse resented something and started buck-jumping. He did that for three strides and veered left in the process. Adebisi had jumped from a wide draw and as he bucked wider, he was now out in no-man’s land and the leaders were spearing away from him as jockey Shane Scriven tried to regain control.

The race effectively was gone in that moment.

To his credit though, Adebisi’s raw talent kicked in. The colt moved forward from ninth place to be fifth on the turn. Always wide, he shifted out in the straight and, against the odds, he started to make ground. But then, with 150m left to run, Adebisi shifted in quite dramatically moving from eight wide all the way in to three off the fence, running into the whip.

Whether that shift was from fatigue after his sterling mid-race effort, or whether it was just another example of his waywardness is up for debate. It looked more like the latter.

It was a costly run for the followers of the favourite. The up-side is that, when Adebisi learns to run straight, they should get their money back.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer David Lawlor: “The draw beat him last time (when drawn eleven out of thirteen on debut in the race won by Wonderful Lass). With the number one alley Tony (Erhart) said, we won’t get beaten today boys.

“We very pleased. We only paid $20000 for him. He is a cheap horse. Tony said last time he should have run a place, but he came off the track a little bit. He was out pretty wide and he just wouldn’t go over for him ... just wouldn’t get in. It cost him second or third place.

“When we saw barrier one today we knew things would be different. First time we’ve had a good alley for a long time.

“There’s no plans in place for him yet. We’ll see how he eats tonight.”

Jockey Tony Erhart: “He got on the fence. He got breathing properly and travelling right and he went to the line really good. He might make it into a handy little horse later, yeah.”

*Desleigh Forster (trainer of the favourite Adebisi explained the colt’s waywardness shortly after the start): “Scrivo (Shane Scriven) hit him with the stick and he had a bit of a reaction to the stick. He went left and had a bit of a buck.

“That apart, overall we were happy with the run. He lost maybe six lengths when he did what he did. That would have been the end of most horses, but he came back. Probably just the last 50m he tired a little bit because he’s done so much work to get back into contention.

“As I said, he basically went good. We were very happy with the run. He’ll obviously have to trial now and then we’ll find another race for him.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Huff And Puff): 5.00 out to 6.00.
Favourite (Adebisi): 1.70 in to 1.60. Finished second.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
After being boxed, Jet Surge (D. Browne) became restless and reared several times, then missed the start rather badly and got well back. Leica Story (C. Small) jumped away awkwardly and lost ground. Certezza (G. Colless) jumped outwards at the start, taking Crazy Ways (B. Pengelly) wider on the track.

A short distance after the start, Adebisi commenced to buck. After taking evidence from rider S. Scriven and trainer D. Forster, stewards deemed the performance unsatisfactory and ordered that Adebisi must trial to the satisfaction of the stewards prior to its next race start.

Shortly after straightening, R. Goltz, rider of Done All Done, dropped his whip. After this, Done All Done proved difficult to ride out due primarily to greenness, and near the winning post it shifted in abruptly away from Adebisi.

Sir Qualified (K. Banks) raced wide throughout.

G. Colless reported that Certezza laid in in the straight, placing him at a disadvantage, however he was of the opinion that the horse had commenced to tire midway down the straight. A post race veterinary examination of Certezza failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.

A post race veterinary examination of Leica Story failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.