EF FEB 27 - IVY’S LEAGUE’S LAST GASP VICTORY

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Eagle Farm, February 27, 2010.
Track - Dead 4. Rail - out 3m.
1MW Last year - 1815m. Time: 1-30.53 (Carrying 53kg).
1 Ivy's League; 2 Telestah La Vistah; 3 Smuggler's Inn.

Ivy’s League turned around his fortunes, in his fourth start since transferring to the Brian Smith stable, when he produced a sustained finished effort to get up and beat Telestah La Vistah by a half-neck margin in a driving finish.

Jockey Ryan Wiggins settled the four-year-old just worse than midfield in the early part. He was up to midfield in the back-straight, racing the ninth spot, and he held that position until the approach to the turn where he moved up to eighth, as Wiggins shifted the gelding four wide, and he straightened some five lengths off the Tellfire, who had set the pace from the start of the race..

Smuggler’s Inn, who had tracked Tellfire throughout, was quick to apply pressure on the leader. Bugsytwoshows also made an early play for the honours and by the 250m mark, Smuggler’s Inn and Bugsytwoshoes had seized the initiative from a weakening Tellfire and they joined issue at the head of affairs.

By the time this duo hit the front Ivy’s League was only a little more than two lengths behind them.

Wiggin’s had switched Ivy’s League even wider early in the straight. The gelding was happy to give chase and he closed up steadily to race into serious contention at the business end of affairs.

Apart from the two leaders, who Ivy’s League had firmly in his sights, there was one other player that posed threat to the Smith trained runner.

Telestah La Vistah had no luck in the first half of the straight. The mare, a winner at her last start, had enjoyed a solid run just a couple of lengths off the speed until that time, but when she straightened she found herself trapped between Yarmarjie (on the rail) and Academy Magic (on her outside) and stuck hard on the heels of Smuggler’s Inn.

Academy Magic held Telestah La Vistah in until the former tired at the 300m but, by then, Bugsytwoshoes had gone past and now he was the one blocking Telestah La Vistah’s progress. Telestah La Vistah was forced to switch out to find clear air. That was no easy manoeuvre, but she eventually got out with 180m left to run.

As Telestah La Vistah switched out around the heels of Bugsytwoshoes, she ended up right alongside Ivy’s League who was putting in his run down the ouside. At first it looked like Ivy’s League would go right past Telestah La Vistah but, urged on by Ivy’s Leagues presence, Telestah La Vistah picked up momentum to the degree that she actually that she was able to take on Ivy’s League in a stride for stride battle in the concluding stages as they closed up on the still duelling duo of Smuggler’s Inn and Bugsytwoshoes.

The result came down to the very last stride where, in a pressurised four-way go, Ivy’s League just got up to beat a game Telesta La Vistah by a half-neck with Smuggler’s Inn only a further head away in third sport.

Ivy’s League actually shifted out quite markedly in the final few strides without missing a beat and that move, which took her out wide on the track, arguably helped him snare the decision in the photo-finish.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Brian Smith: “It wasn’t going that well in New Zealand and Steve Till from Windsor Park Stud recommended to the owners that they send the horse to me and that we would find the problem, which we have. It had a torn muscle when it came to me and we found it and it has just taken a while to get him right.

“His first run for me (at the Sunshine Coast) was no good. It was mud. He had no blinkers on. He’s a Montjeu ... he played up in the barriers ... he just never went at all. They were nearly going to take him back to New Zealand that day.

“They said, you’ve got to come up with something better than that. You know, from years gone by we don’t give up. We keep on trying and sometimes it works.

“He won at Ipswich in his second start for me and he raced really well the other day (when finishing fourth behind Kamakura at Doomben) and he was a wee bit soft, you know. I thought I’d just take a tough 1800m and enter him today.

“I dropped him back in distance today because he had a hard run the other day over 2200m. I thought the horse can win a Class 6 on a Saturday, but I’ve just got to toughen him up. They think I can’t bring them back in distance. He showed a bit of class to win that ... showed a good turn of foot.”

Jockey Ryan Wiggins: “Look, the horse has been going well, but geez it was a big step up in grade today. He was running against horses that have won seven or eight races. You know, he just won a Class 1 the other day (at Ipswich on January 17).

“I had a really good run, but when I went for him down the straight he didn’t know what to do. Another horse came up inside me, the second horse, and he really rallied.

“That was a big step and the way he won and the way he travelled ... there are a few more wins there for him.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Ivy’s League): 16.00 out to 26.00.
Equal favourite (Smugglers Inn): 7.00 in to 5.00. Finished third.
Equal favourite (Academy Magic): 6.00 in to 5.00. Finished fourteenth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Rounding the first turn Academy Magic (J. Byrne) got its head up, commenced to over-race and shifted out off the heels of Bugsytwoshoes, forcing Crowning Force (N. Evans) to be checked and shift wider on the track.

Academy Magic continued to over-race for some distance and was obliged to race three wide for the remainder of the event. Crowning Force was also obliged to race wide without cover. A post-race veterinary examination of Academy Magic revealed no abnormalities.