GSCT MAY 08 - GRACEFUL ANNA ADDS ANOTHER NOTCH TO HER BELT

By Graham Potter and Matthew Grimson | Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Gold Coast, May 8, 2010.
Track - Slow 6. Rail - out 0.5m.
Silk Stocking (Fillies and Mares Handicap - Quality - Listed) - 1200m.
Time: 1-10.17. (Carrying 55.5kg).
1 Graceful Anna; 2 Kanzan; 3 Conquering Queen.

The Magic Millions three-year-old Stakes at Wyong, The Vo Rogue at Doomben, the Magic Millions three-year-old Trophy at the Gold Coast and now the Silk Stocking at the Gold Coast - the honour roll for the David Pfieffer trained filly Graceful Anna is growing with each passing contest.

The chestnut has now recorded six wins from eight starts. She has finished second once and third once as she has proved to be a model of consistency taking each new, more difficult challenge in her stride on the way to banking over $900000 in stake earnings during her short, finely measured career, the management of which stands as a credit to her young trainer.

Graceful Anna is good-looking enough, but she is on the small side. She doesn’t know that though and she is happy to punch above her weight which she does with smooth effectiveness.

Here, Graceful Anna landed in the lead, but jockey Larry Cassidy was happy to let three runners go past her to take up the early running.

Plain Magic, who speared out of the gates from the extreme outside draw, went to the front. At the opposite end of the draw Kiss Me Katy also made her intentions clear. She wanted to be up with the speed from the inside gate and she went up to settle just off Plain Magic, along with General Secretary who had also been chased up from a wide draw. Graceful Anna tracked the three leaders, saving ground along the inside.

Plain Magic still held the advantage approaching the turn, but the inside line helped Cassidy push Graceful Anna into second spot on straightening.

Cassidy wasted little time in angling Graceful Anna away from the fence into clear running and the gutsy mare set about the task of reeling in Plain Magic with relish. That mission was accomplished with a little over 100m left to run, but the Peter Snowden trained Kanzan emerged as a danger over the concluding stages.

Kanzan had been in the second half of the field as the runners turned for home. She then raced in restricted galloping room for a number of strides early in the straight, before finding her rhythm and making steady progress along the inside running rail.

Approaching the 100m Kanzan too had to switch out around the heels of Plain Magic. She did this while Graceful Anna was in full cry racing in a straight line towards the finish and, while Kanzan did pick up gamely in the closing stages to get within half-a-length of the winner, Graceful Anna’s clear-cut authority was never seriously in doubt and it held good until the line.

Conquering Queen could be one for the notebook. She was always thereabouts and, while she did not do enough to threaten the first two runners to pass the post, her third place finish was full of merit.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer David Pfieffer: “Sensational. He (Larry Cassidy) gave her a great ride. She travelled beautiful and coming round the turn it opened up for her.

“I reckon there is a little bit more improvement in her. She’s a tough little thing. She tries as hard as she can when there is something in front of her. She really knuckles down.

“The plan was to let them burn along out front ... pop in behind ... and be too good for them.

“She’s very adaptable really. She can lead and sprint or she can take a sit. She is good like that. She’s got good gate speed, she settles, she switches off ... but she can also set the pace and kick away.

“It was a good test for her today. There was some good handy mares in there. You take on the three-year-olds and you’re in the same class, but when you go up to these older horses it is always a tough kettle of fish.

“We will see how she goes in her next start before we consider the Stradbroke.

“In two weeks there’s a Doomben meeting and we’ve got a couple of options there, but we’ll eye it up when we get closer to it. It’s going to be a hot Winter Stakes and a hot Stradbroke. You get to these Group 1’s they are all hot races.

“There are three races on the day (May 22 at Doomben). There is the Fred Best Classic, the Moreton Stakes and ... is it the BRC Sprint, I think. They are all 1350m or Group 3’s. So, we’ve got options there, you know, depending on the weights.

“If she wins her next start it’s going to be hard not to go to the Stradbroke. She will have about 51kgs and you see how some of the top dogs drop away sometimes.”

She cost $38,000 and she’s won what, just under a million now. It’s a nice dream. I hope I don’t wake up.

Jockey Larry Cassidy: “She’s certainly top class and her record obviously proves that.

There’s not a much of her, but gee she’s got a heart and the will to win. She’s most definitely up to the Stradbroke and the Winter Stakes. She handles pretty much all sorts of going and puts herself on the speed and settles in the race and knows how to find the line.

“Actually I learnt a lot about her today, because she sort of really didn’t travel. She pinged the start but she didn’t really travel in the middle stages.

“So now I have had two rides on her I have learned so much more riding her the first start and then so much more today which is going to be a big help going into the next races. I would love to stick with her, but that is up to the owners.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Graceful Anna): 2.70 out to 3.00.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Warrior Girl was a late withdrawal at 2.36 pm by order of the Stewards after the filly refused to enter the barriers. Trainer M Thexton was advised that before Warrior Girl can race again it must perform to the satisfaction of an official starter on at least two occasions.

Kisani (J Holder) and Go Johemma (J Taylor) were both slow to begin.

Approaching the 900m Rare Diamond (M Rodd) had to be eased to avoid the heels of General Secretary (M Cahill) which was taken in by Plain Magic (J Byrne) which shifted in when not sufficiently clear.

Jockey Byrne was issued with a reprimand and advised to provide more clearance when shifting ground in future.

After passing the 900m Plain Magic continued to shift in resulting in General Secretary being taken in to a point where the mare made heavy contact with Graceful Anna.

Near the 700m Kiss Me Katy (R Wiggins) which was hanging out, shifted out taking General Secretary out on to Verballed (S Seamer). Verballed and Casholet (C Munce) raced wide throughout the event.

G Yorke Trainer of Rare Diamond said that the horse had displayed good form on wet tracks previously and although today's track was rated slow, he did not think Rare Diamond was comfortable. He said it is also his intention to find races of more distance for the horse in future.