ON HOLD SCORES A WELL MEASURED WIN

By Graham Potter | Sunday, July 9, 2023

A Fillies And Mares Class 1 Handicap over 1000m at the Sunshine Coast on July 9 provided the stage for the David Vandyke trained on Hold to land her second career success.

The Headwater filly came into the race on the back of a runner-up finish in town (at Doomben) following a three-and-a-half week freshen up, and Vandyke allowed her the same gap between races here where she lined up as a joint favourite at $2.70.

Ryan Maloney jumped On Hold well enough but, with the speed coming around him to his outside, Maloney elected to not chase his mount, electing instead to let On Hold find her feet and settle into a comfortable rhythm, which she did, ultimately settled in fifth place … in midfield … some three lengths off the leader.

On Hold held that position until the home turn. A subtle shift out a little wider on the track by Maloney of straightening left On Hold with an uninterrupted run to the line.

From there, On Hold had to tackle the task of landing victory in two parts.

Firstly, she had to reel in the four runners who entered the straight in front of her. That she did in a measured and workmanlike fashion to reach the lead with 180m left to run.

Secondly, once in front, Maloney and On Hold both still had work to do as a determined challenge from behind by Sooblond seriously tested whether there was any chink in On Hold’s armour, but the Vandyke trained runner stayed strong enough to the line to get the job done by a 0.80 length margin.

This was On Hold’s first win since his eye-catching success on debut back in September 2022 … she ran two second places and a third place in-between her two victories … meaning that she has now placed in five of her eight starts for earnings of $46 350.

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