DOOM FEB 20 - CASHOLET PUTS IT ALL TOGETHER

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Doomben, February 20, 2010.
Track - Dead 5. Rail - out 1.5m.
Fillies & Mares Handicap - 1200m. Time: 1-10.24. (Carrying 53kg).
1 Casholet; 2 Sirena Ligera; 3 Dance Girl Dance.

The Bryan Guy trained Casholet has always been thereabouts in recent starts and it was her turn to take centre stage as she put it all together to see off Sirena Ligera by a long-neck at Doomben on Saturday.

Jockey Matthew Palmer settled the mare in fifth place in the early part as Daddys Little Girl set off to lead and set the early target. Casholet remained in fifth spot but edged closer as the speed steadied mid-race.

The four-year-old was 2.50 lengths off the front-runner, held wide outside Dance Girl Dance, in the sweep to the turn, but she held her position comfortably enough to straighten in clear running ... still with work to do, but very much in contention.

As Sirena Ligera went up to apply pressure to Daddys Little Girl at the top of the straight, Palmer too asked his mount for more and Casholet responded well staying with the improving Dance Girl Dance who carried her nicely into the race. By the 250m Sirena Ligera had beaten off the tiring Daddys Little Girl and Dance Girl Dance and Casholet were her only dangers.

When Dance Girl Dance started to shorten her stride at the 150m, it became a two horse race with the simple equation being whether Casholet would be able to run down the leader.

With Casholet’s momentum building with each stride and Sirena Ligera starting to feel the pinch, that question was quickly resolved as Casholet surged forward to get to the front as early as the 100m mark before finishing off with authority to win more easily than the official long-neck margin suggests.

Casholet is now a five-time winner from fifteen starts. She also has three minor placings to her credit.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Bryan Guy: “She has not had many starts at all. She is so honest. You only have to look at her runs, you know.

“I remember, going back in one of her earlier races, she drew sixteen alley in a good Listed race at Eagle Farm and she led them to the last furlong over a mile.

“Today, she looked like she would get a good run, but I haven’t heard Matty’s (Palmer’s) explanation for sitting three wide yet. I sure it will be good ... right out of the text book.

“There’s another one of these fillies and mares races on over 1300 in about a fortnight’s time, so we might come back for that.

“The previous owner wanted to get out of racing. She said, I’ve had an offer for her (Casholet). I said, how much would you sell her to me for? She told me and I said, ok I’ll buy her.

“That was about a week ago. I’ve always had an opinion of her and I didn’t want to lose here and when the owner said, I’m not going to breed with her ... I’d rather get out of racing, I said, ok. That’s how I ended up buying her which was very good of the previous owner because she said I’d done a great job with the horse so she would let me have it.

“I’m telling you, I was getting very, very worried. I’ve been running places, but I haven’t had a winner in town for months ... maybe three months. I’ve been stuck on thirteen (winners) for I don’t know how long. It’s been a while. It is a great turn ... and to win with her is another great turn. We got our money back in one go.

“We’ve been having winners all the time at the provincials ... you know, every week ... but not in town.”

Jockey Matthew Palmer: “I’ve got a very good association together with this little horse. She is very easy to ride. She does everything you ask. She is the type of horse that gives you one-hundred-and fifty percent every time she comes out. So, she is a dream to ride.

“Yeah, I was pushed wide. I could see Larry’s intentions leading up to where he pushed out (Larry Cassidy was riding Dance Girl Dance). I gave her a dig to try and get up level-headed with him so I wouldn’t be pushed deep, but she just wasn’t travelling quite as well as she usually can and consequently I got pushed out wide.

“I just held her together. Funnily enough, she actually preferred being with nothing in front of her and possibly travelling that little bit deep. It wasn’t exactly the game-plan today, but it turned out well in the end.

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Casholet): 3.00 out top 3.20.
Favourite (Daddys Little Girl): 3.00 out to 3.20 in to 2.80. Finished seventh.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Use To Be A Dancer (J. Taylor) jumped away awkwardly and lost ground. Convent Hill (T. Bell) improved up on the heels of the tiring Daddy's Little Girl (J. Byrne) near the 150m and was forced to be restrained off the heels of that horse. Convent Hill was then unable to obtain clear running
for the remainder of the event.

Casholet (M. Palmer) raced three wide throughout.

When asked for an explanation for the seemingly disappointing performance of Daddys Little Girl, jockey J. Byrne stated that whilst he had to make use of the mare in the early stages to secure the lead, Daddys Little Girl relaxed well and he was satisfied with the mid race tempo.

He added that in all the circumstances he was of the opinion the mare would have been able to finish the race off well, however when he placed Daddys Little Girl under pressure on straightening it did not respond and in hindsight J. Byrne felt that the mare may not have been comfortable on the rain affected surface.

Trainer G. Heinrich explained that Daddys Little Girl had suffered from heat stress following its last run and whilst she was satisfied with the horse's work in preparation for today's race, she had since formed a view in consideration of the mare's disappointing performance that it may not have fully recovered and would now send Daddy's Little Girl for a spell.

A post-race veterinary examination of Daddy's Little Girl failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.

C. Munce, rider of Redibis, which performed below expectations, explained that after relinquishing the lead to Daddy's Little Girl in the early stages when there was a strong early speed he was able to position Redibis in a nice position just behind the leaders however when the pace slowed in the middle stages, Redibis over-raced and failed to finish the race off as expected.

Trainer T .Gollan advised stewards that, in his opinion, the reason for the disappointing performance of Redibis today could be directly attributed to the horse over-racing during the middle stages. A post-race veterinary examination of Redibis failed to reveal any significant abnormalities