DOOM MAR 13 - MONASHEE DANCER TOO STRONG YET AGAIN

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Doomben, March 13, 2010.
Track - Slow 6. Rail - True.
Open Handicap - 1010m. Time: 58.79. (Carrying 58kg).
1 Monashee Dancer; 2 Buckmoore; 3 Sir Monashee.

The Darren Bell trained Monashee Dancer completed back to back wins with a trademark display of speed which saw him run his rivals off their feet on his way to an eighth career victory.

There is a no rocket science attached to Monashee Dancer’s race tactics. The roan is a natural galloper who relishes his commitment to establishing a high cruising speed up front and taking the battle to his opposition.

Monashee Dancer leaves his rivals facing the dilemma of how to pace their race. Stay too close to the five-year-old and the chances are you will burn out before he does. Give him too much leeway up front and the chances are you will never get close enough to threaten his superiority.

Monashee Dancer’s rivals failed to find the happy medium between those two options on Saturday. Buckmoore came closest to doing so and in the process he highlighted the merit of Monashee Dancer’s win. The fact that Buckmoore was carrying 7kg less than his conqueror underlines the effort of the winner.

When Monashee Dancer went to the front shortly after the start Buckmoore went with him and sat a length off the leader all the way to the turn. On straightening, Monashee Dancer kicked and Buckmoore was momentarily left flat-footed which allowed the Bell trained runner to increase his advantage at the head of affairs.

Monashee Dancer’s lead was two-and-a-half-lengths halfway up the straight and that was enough for him to clinch the deal.

Buckmoore did build a smooth rhythm of his own and he was closing up well enough at the line to get within a long-head of the winner, but the win was achieved a little more easily than that winning margin suggests as, at no stage, did Buckmoore look like he would head Monashee Dancer.

The second Darren Bell trained runner, Sir Monashee, finished third.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Darren Bell: “That last fifty metres is always a worry ... especially today with the big weight. He has had five weeks between runs too ... awkward draw, big weight, slightly soft track ... I thought he had a bit against him today, so it was a great performance. There should be some improvement in him again.

“Yeah, they can’t really try to go with him early because of his high cruising speed. They’ll give themselves no chance if they do.

“There is not many horses quicker out of the barriers than him. He doesn’t always beat them out of the gates but, within the first half-a-dozen strides, he can virtually outpace anything.

“We’ll see what happens next. He went up very sharply in the weights. It alarmed me actually. It depends what other horses nominate next time, but the weight is a bit of a concern, yeah. He is the type of horse you could put a claim on though, so there are options."

Jockey Jim Byrne: “That’s the way he wins his races by getting the horses in behind him off the bit.

“He was able to get across them pretty soft. I’d say for the first 300m he didn’t really do a lot, but one crept up to him at the three and I thought, if I could hold him together until just passing the 450 he run a very good three so that’s basically the way it worked.

“He anticipates the jump. He gets a bit agitated in there and he just really wants those gates to click open ... basically you don’t even have to rush him. He just does it on his own. Nice effort."

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Monashee Dancer): 2.70 in to 2.35 out to 2.40.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Eddie Rapido (J. Bowditch) jumped out at the start and made contact with Presley (M. Hellyer).

Presley raced three wide throughout. Presley lost its near-fore plate in running.

When questioned regarding the seemingly disappointing performance of Joint Chiefs, L. Cassidy explained that the horse did not feel entirely comfortable on the prevailing track and was also of the view that the horse may be looking for further than the 1010m of today's event.

Trainer B. Wakefield agreed with L. Cassidy's assessment that the horse was not comfortable in the going and may be looking for further. A post-race veterinary examination of Joint Chiefs failed to reveal any abnormalities.