DOOM MAY 22 - PRESSDAY UNDERLINES HIS CLASS

By Graham Potter and Matthew Grimson | Monday, May 24, 2010

Doomben, May 22, 2010.
Champagne Classic (Group 2 - 2yo - Set Weights) - 1200m.
Time: 1-09.96. (Carrying 56kg).
Track - Dead 4. Rail - out 2m.
1 Pressday; 2 Spirit Of Boom; 3 Buffering.

Pressday’s sweeping victory in the Group 2 Champagne Classic at Doomben on Saturday translated into a tremendous training feat by Chris Waller with the win being made all the sweeter by the fact that Waller and his wife are part-owners of the very promising Doomsday colt.

Originally targeted for the Golden Slipper, time ran out on the youngster and that mission was aborted. A Slipper preparation normally means that an early assault on the Queensland Winter Carnival would be unlikely, but after giving Pressday a quick freshen up, Waller took the plunge with the colt and accepted to race in the Champagne Classic.

By Waller’s own admission, the strategy had risk written all over it, but good trainers know their horses well. They know if they are coping, how well they are coping and whether they are ready to race to their full ability. Pressday ticked all of the boxes along the way to facing the starter and then proceeded to pulverise a quality line-up, underlining his class on his way to his first Group 2 success.

This was one of those cases where it was not just the fact that Pressman had won that caught attention. It was the manner in which victory was achieved that was particularly impressive.

Pressday was the fifth choice in the betting. Smokin’ Joey, who won the Blue Sapphire on debut for trainer Lee Freedman in his only previous start, shared favouritism at $4.60 with the Desleigh Forster trained Adebisi. The latter had finished runner-up to Spirit Of Boom in the Ken Russell Memorial at the Gold Coast in his last start and the good-looking chestnut was favoured to reverse that result.

Buffering, who went into the race unbeaten in four starts, was marked up as third favourite at $5.00. Ken Russell winner Spirit Of Boom was at $7.00. Pressday was at $8.50, in from $11.00.

Buffering and Spirit Of Boom got the best of the start and they took the field along at a fair pace early on. Buffering led ... Spirit Of Boom sat 0,75 lengths back, just outside the leader. Adebisi landed in third from pole position while Pressday jumped well to hold down fourth place early.

When Broadway Harmony pushed forward from his wide draw Adebisi and Pressday went back one place each and when Pressday ran onto the heels of Broadway Harmony in the sweep to the turn he was momentarily shuffled back to sixth spot, but he was still no more than three lengths off the leader.

Buffering was still the leader on straightening but Spirit Of Boom was now starting to annoy him. Racing just outside of those two, Broadway Harmony was trying to sustain the long run which had carried her right into the thick of the action. There was less than a length between these three runners as they cornered racing fairly tightly together.

Behind that jockey Shane Scriven switched Adebesi out to try and get around the heels of the leading trio. In the process Adebisi momentarily inconvenienced Pressday who was pushed out wider on the track. That left Adebisi (four wide) and Pressday (five wide) in clear running on straightening, each with an uninterrupted straight line to the finish.

The immediate problem for these two runners early in the straight was that their marginal outward shift had allowed the leaders to get away. Adebisi was suddenly three lengths behind Buffering and Spirit Of Boom who had now become involved in a stride for stride battle. Pressday was a further length behind Adebisi.

As Buffering and Spirit Of Boom continued to trade punch for punch as they fought their way to the line at the head of affairs, Broadway Harmony tried desperately to stay with them, but she was now running on heart alone and she was a game but beaten horse by the 150m mark. Adebisi too failed to pick up the tempo to the required degree and Pressday went past the favourite inside the 200m.

Pressday was still had work to do with a little over 100m left to run, but he was fully wound up now. The acceleration as jockey Nash Rawiller got him to lengthen his stride was too powerful for the others to withstand.

Spirit Of Boom finally got the better of Buffering with just 75m left to run but, in the end, that private battle, which had held centre stage for almost all of the running, only became one that would decide second and third placing as Pressday brushed all challenges aside, arriving almost with a touch of arrogance to score in decisive fashion by a widening 1.30 length margin.

All credit to the winner, but don’t right off the pace-getters just yet. Spirit Of Boom and Buffering did little to dent their respective reputations. They did each other no favours in getting involved in an all out test of strength for much of the trip and they just found one too good for them. They will live to fight another day.

The equal-favourite’s Adebisi and Smokin’ Joey finished fourth and fifth respectively.

WINNER FEEDBACK
Trainer Chris Waller: “Yeah, we tried him in the Golden Slipper lead-up races but it just came up a bit too quick for him.

“Mentally he wasn’t quite there and I was wondering how he would cope today. He’s only been out to the paddock for a short time so it was a risk to bring him here. Fortunately we made the right decision.

“Even prior to the race he handled it very well. Obviously he is horse going places and, yeah, he’s got a great future. He looked in trouble at the top of the straight but in the comcluding stages he started to show some dominance.

“It was suicidal really to do a Golden Slipper preparation and then only spell a horse for two weeks, but we knew we had a very smart horse. He’s a more 1400, even a miler, so to be competitive for the next two races we had to run today and yeah, we made the right call.

“We bought him from the Inglis Classic Sale for $38,000 ... that’s a lot of money. I have a very good friend of mine in the ownership, Tony Muollo, and our wives are in it as well. It obviously makes it very special and Nash Rawiller is a very good friend of ours. It could soon make a fairytale.

“He has always shown potential. He won his first start and ran third to Hinchenbrook and seventh to Brightexpectations. Yeah, that was the lead-up to the slipper and then I think we just overcooked him.

“He didn’t do anything his last start (in the Pago Pago behind Brightexpectations). He just burnt out in the Pago Pago. The pressure racing leading up to the Golden Slipper ... there is no comparison. It is very tough on young horses and fortunately we backed off at the right time and, although he has only had a short freshen up, it was enough to have him right for today.

It was a punt bringing him up this early because he only had two weeks out in the paddock after his Gold Slipper preparation. He didn’t quite get there, but fortunately we backed off when we did and he must have had enough time out to rejuvenate and here we are today.

“He is by a very good stallion. Doomsday will be a very good stallion and the mare’s side obviously done a good job.

“He’ll go to the Sires Produce and then hopefully on to the T.J. The Sires should be ideal. A few of the jockeys have said the 1400 would really suit him.”

Jockey Nash Rawiller: “That was the first time on his back. I think he is a very promising horse. He has got a lot of raw talent. Although he has had a few runs he is still learning what the trade is all about.

“I just wanted to try and get him to settle. The hope is that he can run 1400m or a mile down the track. I think he certainly can do that, but he is still a little bit fresh and keen in his races at this stage.

“He jumped well ... made his own luck. Got himself in a lovely spot. At the 600m he just got the heels of Danny Nikolic (on Broadway Harmony) outside us ... just through racing green. I thought at the time it was going to make us a bit vulnerable, but he just overcame that like a professional.

“Obviously what impressed me most is the way he knuckled down in the last 100. I thought we were in a bit of strife but he went into overdrive, so it is a pretty serious horse.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Pressday): 11.00 in to 8.50.
Equal favourite (Adebesi): 4.80 out to 5.50 in to 4.60. Finished fourth.
Equal favourite (Smokin’ Joey): 4.40 out to 4.80 in to 4.60. Finished fifth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Fashion (J. Byrne) jumped very awkwardly, made heavy contact with the barriers and lost ground. Devinardi (D. Griffin) shifted out on jumping away and hampered Jesse's Girl (B. Shinn). Smokin' Joey (D. Dunn) also began awkwardly and lost ground. Sticksy (M. Walker) and Hidden Treasure (S. Seamer) came together at the start.

Sticksy raced fiercely in the early stages.

Pressday (N. Rawiller) when over-racing leaving the 800m, shifted out and struck the heels of Broadway Harmony (D. Nikolic).

Broadway Harmony, Posh Chic (T. Clark), Chosen To Fly (M. Hughes) and Secession (K. McEvoy) raced wide throughout.

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