EF MAY 01 - THIRD SUCCESSIVE CITY WIN FOR ULLADULLA

By Graham Potter and Matthew Grimson | Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Eagle Farm, May 1, 2010.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 8m.
Class 6 Plate (Set Weights) - 1200m. Time: 1-09.95. (Carrying 56kg).
1 Ulladulla; 2 Drenalin; 3 Mazuka.

The Kelly Schweida trained Ulladulla’s new lease on life took another positive step at Eagle Farm on Saturday where the six-year-old produced a powerful finishing effort to land his third win from his last four starts.

The result was in fact Ulladulla’s third successive win in the city as the only loss the gelding suffered in his last four outings came when he was comprehensively outgunned by Poor Judge in the Weetwood on the Cushion Track at Toowoomba.

Ulladulla jumped well but jockey Shane Scriven decided to settle the chestnut off the speed as Leapfrog and Gundy Son went out to set a fiery tempo up front. Ulladulla settled sixth early behind the hot speed and then moved up to fifth as the field turned for home.

Ulladulla straightened some four to five lengths off the leading duo. At that stage the top weight Drenalin was hard-ridden as he tried to follow Ulladulla through into the race.

Scriven switched Ulladulla out marginally at the 300m mark ... and Drenalin did the same as he stayed right on the back of Ulladulla.

That move took Ulladulla across the heels of Left Standing who, up until that stage, had held down third spot tracking the leaders. From there, the first 100m of the chase produced little of consequence with Ulladulla only making up ground slowly, but when Scriven gave Ulladulla the green light to stretch out coming through the 200m mark, the gelding responded on cue and surged forward with meaning.

He breezed past Left Standing and Gundy Son who were spent forces inside the last 200m. They dropped away quickly. That left Leapfrog as the sole runner standing ahead of Ulladulla and despite his bold attempt at an end-to-end victory, Leapfrog’s early effort took its toll late in the running and Ulladulla hit the front with 75m left to run.

It wasn’t quite over yet.

Drenalin just wouldn’t go away. He had matched Ulladulla’s every move and chased hard all the way down the straight and he maintained his challenge in the concluding stages to keep Ulladulla honest all the way to the line. It was a solid effort by Drenalin, but ended with his third successive runner-up finish as Ulladulla outgunned him to the line.

Mazuka ran on late to take third spot away from Leapfrog.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Kelly Schweida: “Since we put the pacifiers and the blinkers on him he’s had four runs for three wins and a fourth.

“It’s amazing what a gear change can do, especially with these old fellows. You have got to try and trick them and get them in the right frame of mind. Look, I hate rapping Shane (Scriven) but it was a really good ride.

“He had a plan where he wanted to be. He wanted to get to the fence early and come with one short run, you know. He is a really good rider when he is on his game, but the more you rap him the harder he is to put up with.

“Yeah, the horse still has a couple of Class 6’s left in him. These particular races ... these Class 6 Plates ... he comes in good in the weights. When he won the other day in a one Metro he had 58kg, I think. Today he’s come down to 56, so these Class 6 Plates are really good for him.

“He is a hard horse to train in terms of getting him to work. He is a real handful to ride in work. He wants to go one hundred mile an hour all the time. He is a hard-puller. The fellow who rides him in work does a really good job. Without him he probably ... well, I don’t think he’d be winning these races.

“He’s tough though. He is a real tough horse.”

Jockey Shane Scriven: “He is really going well. Underneath you he is a ball of muscle, you know. Kelly (Schweida) has got him nice and fit and he is enjoying that.

“Well I suppose if I’ve got to give Kelly a rap, it’s that he lets me do my own thing. Kelly always says he wants to sell me at my price and buy me at his price. I don’t know what he means by that!

“We wanted to be a little aggressive today, but they outpaced me early. I wanted to be up there but they were going too quick. The last time I won on him I led on him. That was in a pretty slow run race. They hit the ground running today.

“I would have liked to be a bit closer, but there was no use in pushing him early. So, we took the next best option. We had a nice run and he was strong coming to the turn and I knew then he would hard to beat.

“I gave him a bit of room and he was strong at the death.”

“He’s probably not top class. I haven’t spoken to Kelly yet, but I think a race like the Eyeliner would suit him. You know a race like that is what I’d be aiming him at.

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Ulladulla): 5.00 out to 6.00 in to 4.20.
Favourite (Gundy Son): 4.00 out to 4.20 in to 4.00. Finished seventh.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
His Boy Elroy, which was kicked behind the barriers, was examined by the veterinary surgeon and declared a late scratching at 4.42 p.m. by order of the stewards acting on veterinary advice.

Guissepino (D. Browne) was tightened shortly after the start between Regal Gaze (R. McMahon), which was taken in by Drenalin (B. Stewart), and Gundy Son (S. Katsidis), which shifted out and away from Left Standing (L. Cassidy).

Near the 1100m Lilleelavee (B. Evans) had to be checked and lost its position when racing inside of Ulladulla (S. Scriven), which shifted in and away from Leapfrog (P. Hammersley), when that horse crossed when not sufficiently clear. P. Hammersley was severely reprimanded and instructed to take greater measures to keep his mounts straight.

Blackwoods Choice (J. Byrne) raced wide throughout.

G. Colless, the rider of Mazuka, pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding under AR. 137(a), in that approaching the 1000m he permitted his mount to shift in when insufficiently clear of Seething Duck (M. Hellyer), resulting in Seething Duck having to be checked to avoid the heels of Mazuka and losing its rightful running.

G. Colless's licence to ride in races was suspended for a period of 7 meetings, with the term of suspension to commence at midnight on Wednesday, 5 May, and expire at midnight on Sunday, 16 May 2010.

B. Stewart, the rider of Drenalin, was found guilty of a charge of careless riding under AR. 137(a) in that near the 800m he permitted his mount to shift in when insufficiently clear of Mazuka (G. Colless), resulting in that horse being taken in on to Lilleelavee, which had to be checked when tightened for room between Mazuka and the running rail. In this incident Seething Duck, which was following Lilleelavee, also had to be checked to avoid the heels of Lilleelavee when that horse lost ground.

B. Stewart's licence to ride in races was suspended for a period of 7 meetings. In assessing penalty, stewards took into consideration that B. Stewart was commencing a suspension following the completion of today's meeting. Stewards ordered that the 7-meeting suspension commence at the expiration of an 8 meeting suspension which commences at midnight on Saturday, 1 May, and expire at midnight on Wednesday, 19 May 2010.

Near the 300m Silver Scholar (K. Yoshida) had to be steadied to avoid the heels of Drenalin, which shifted out to improve.

B. Stewart, the rider of Drenalin, dropped his whip close to the finish line.

S. Katsidis, the rider of Gundy Son, reported that he was not supplied with any firm instructions and when he was trapped wide in the early stages he allowed the horse to improve forward to take a position outside the leader.

S. Katsidis added that in his opinion Gundy Son today raced quite fresh and as a result compounded over the concluding section of the race. S. Katsidis further stated that given the early sectionals Gundy Son was entitled to tire and felt the horse will take great benefit from today's race.

Trainer R. Heathcote reported that the horse had raced similarly at a previous campaign and agreed with S. Katsidis that the horse would take benefit from today's outing.

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