DOOM MAR 13 - ROTHERA POWERS HOME

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Doomben, March 13, 2010.
Track - Dead 5. Rail - True.
Class 6 Handicap - 1350m. Time: 1-20.50 (Carrying 53kg).
1 Rothera; 2 Cat Eyes; 3 Afforestation.

The Ben Currie trained Rothera stormed home at a long price here to claim his second successive win and take his overall record to six wins from seventeen starts.

The chestnut has now won two out of two this prep after striking at Toowoomba last time when first-up over 1100m. This was Rothera’s first Metropolitan win.

Jockey Jason Holder dropped Rothera out at the start (he jumped from barrier 13 out of 15 runners) and he tracked across towards the inside as Rothera settled towards the rear of the field, some seven to eight lengths off the lead which was being disputed by Cat Eyes and Chevrolet Lad.

Rothera travelled comfortably enough behind a good speed saving ground until the turn, but when he straightened he still had plenty of work to do both in terms of making up ground (he was still six lengths off the action) and in finding a suitable passage to launch his challenge (as traffic problems loomed ahead of him).

But it was his rate of acceleration and his immediate response to Holder’s urgings which carried the day. His initial burst of speed along the inside took Rothera up to sixth place by the 200m. By that stage Cat Eyes had got the better of Chevrolet Lad and he was in turn now coming under threat from the favourite Telesto Warrior.

Inside the final 200m Holder had to take hold of Rothera briefly and angle his mount out to find a split between Telesto Warrior and Afforestation. With 150m left to run Holder had Rothera right where he wanted to be and he unleashed a telling finishing effort which saw his breeze past Cat Eyes and Telesto Warrior as he asserted his authority in no uncertain terms to win going away by 1.80 lengths.

Cat Eyes stayed on for second place. Afforestation just touched off Telesto Warrior for third.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Jockey Jason Holder: “From the wide gate it was a bit awkward, but I juts rode him the same way he has been racing. He got back and came home really well. He presented himself and he made my job a lot easier.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Rothera): 21.00 steady.
Favourite (Telesto Warrior): 4.20 out to 4.40. Finished fourth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Pyramids (J. Byrne) jumped away awkwardly and missed the start.

Future's Dream (J. Bowditch) stood flat-footed as the start was affected and lost considerable ground. After hearing submissions from trainer S. Ryan and taking into account the horse had no previous history of missing the start, stewards placed a warning against the horse.

Afforestation (T. Bell) and Aquaterra (L. Cassidy) raced wide throughout.

As a result of being caught five wide approaching the first turn, Citiwyse (C. McIver) was sent forward to race three wide without cover for the remainder of the event.

Shortly after straightening Unintentional (B. El-Issa) had to be steadied when Pyramids shifted out taking Festus Hagen (B. Stewart) wider on the track and Citiwyse, which had been wide, commenced to compound forward of Unintentional.

B. Stewart, the rider of Festus Hagen, reported that he was a little concerned with the horse's actions when mustering speed in the early stages, however the horse commenced to travel satisfactorily throughout the middle stages and his concerns were allayed. However, when he placed the horse under pressure in the early stages of the straight he again became concerned with the horse's action and took the decision not to fully test the horse over the concluding stages as he felt there may have been something amiss.

A post-race veterinary examination of Festus Hagen revealed the horse was lame in the offside fore-leg and had sustained a laceration on the off-hind coronet. Trainer T. Bailey was advised that he must obtain a veterinary clearance for Festus Hagen before it is permitted to race again.