EF FEB 27 - HAT-TRICK FOR ARIZONA SUNSET

By Graham Potter | Monday, March 1, 2010

Eagle Farm, February 27, 2010.
Track - Dead 4. Rail - out 3m.
Class 6 Handicap - 2118m. Time: 2-11.51. (Carrying 55kg).
1 Arizona Sunset; 2 Encosta Tszyu; 3 Sandton.

The Pat Duff trained Arizona Sunset completed a hat-trick of wins when he produced a powerful finish to take the measure of Encosta Tszyu in the concluding stages to win by 0,75 lengths.

The gelding lacked early speed but he settled comfortably enough in seventh spot, just worse than midfield until halfway through the contest. Arizona Sunset then went back to eighth place as Bobby El-Issa, the rider of Encosta Tszyu who been racing just behind and outside of Arizona Sunset up until that stage, decided the speed was too slow. El-Issa pulled Encosta Tszyu out further, ramped up the tempo and chased up around the field to go to the lead with 700m left to run.

Arizona Sunset was still a bit flat-footed in the sweep to the turn and he cornered with some seven lengths to make up on Encosta Tszyu. Taken four wide by jockey Jason Taylor, Arizona Sunset quickly found his feet in the straight and he started to make up ground.

The long-striding gelding had got the deficit down to three lengths by the 200m mark and, with the steadying burden of 58kg starting to take its toll on Encosta Tszyu after his long run, Arizona Sunset momentum was always going to carry him to victory.

He got to the front with 75m to spare to complete a hat-trick of wins and take his overall record to victories from seventeen starts.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Pat Duff: “He is a dour horse. He is probably no world beater, but he is a very dour horse. He’ll stay.

The mare ... Sunset, the mother ... Alan Bailey had her. She won at 2200m, but she was out of a sister to Atlantic Brave and they were nearly all sprinters ... so it is unusual.

“Now obviously he’ll step up to where he has got to beat better class horses. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he is the type of horse that can get 2400m and beyond. He’ll probably have to do that. You can see that even at 2100m he just got them down.

“He is a real dour horse. He reminds me of a horse I had many years ago ... a horse called Bay Legend. He ran third in a Brisbane Cup and I won a Queensland Cup with him. He is a very similar type of horse. You know, they are just very dour horses.

“It looks like he has been up a long time, but I gave him a little gap in his preparation. He’s been a nice horse for us.

“He is always hard work. He’s never on the bit that horse in anything he’s raced. You watch his race and you think, he’s gone but he just keeps plugging away.

“He always gets back in his races. He got back to last the other day. We were hoping he’d be midfield this time, but he (Jason Taylor) was riding him hard out of the straight just to stay last.

“I am going to set him towards a race like ... I think he is a horse who won’t be out of a place in a race like the Queensland Cup. We’ll kick that way. He probably lacks the class to beat better horses over a bit of distance like ten furlongs, but he is such a staying type that 2400m races like the Coloundra City Cup and those type of races might suit him.

Jockey Jason Taylor: “Today just proved what I thought the other day. I think he is a very strong, up-and-coming stayer.

“He just doesn’t have a lot of early pace, but he seems to like racing that way. When he got to the outside, he really came on strong. He’s going to win quite a few races.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Arizona Sunset): 3.90 in to 3.50.
Favourite (Kamakura): 2.25 out to 3.20. Finished fifth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Kamakura (J. Byrne) was slow to begin.

Cheapskaterubi (M. Hellyer) and Eureka (C. McIver) over-raced in the early and middle stages.

Leaving the 1100m Encosta Tszyu (B. El-Issa) shifted out and progressed forward three wide to assume the lead leaving the 600m. Leaving the 1000m Eureka improved on to the heels of Cheapskaterubi and when being restrained shifted wider on the track.

Arizona Sunset (J. Taylor) laid in under pressure over the concluding stages.

When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of Eureka, apprentice C. McIver stated that the horse over-raced in the early stages and refused to settle and when the pace quickened near the 600m the horse could not sprint and did not finish the race off. He attributed the horse's performance to the fact that it over-raced in the early stages.

A post-race veterinary examination of Eureka failed to reveal any abnormalities. Trainer R. Heathcote's representative Ms M. Leitch reported that the horse may have done too well since its last start and she would liaise with Mr Heathcote as to reviewing the horse's training program.

J. Byrne, the rider of Kamakura, reported that as he was trapped wide in the early stages he was forced to make use of Kamakura in order to obtain a position closer to the lead, which he achieved near the 1600m. J. Byrne added that in hindsight the horse may have been better suited by being positioned just off the pace.

The track was downgraded to Dead 4 retrospective to Race 1 following the running of this event.

WINNER FEEDBACK REVISITED (Eagle Farm, February 23):
After Arizona Sunset’s win at Eagle Farm over 1800m on February 13, which was his second successive win following on Gold Coast success in January, trainer Pat Duff had this to say to HRO:

Trainer Pat Duff: “No, he never surprised me ... not at all. I thought the horse could win.

“He is a nice horse. I stepped him up because I think he is a bit above average this horse. He won at the (Gold) coast last time ... it was only a Class 3 or something. I know this was stepping up from a Class 3 at the coast, but he had 58kg’s there. He’s been racing with big weights down there.

“In his last run at the coast he won with plenty up his sleeve. Actually Kenny (Pope, who rode him on that occasion) told me to bring him straight to town.

“He’ll be a lot better horse at 2000 ... 2200m. Once he moves up in distance, just stay with him.”

That turned out to be excellent advice.