KEANO’S LIGHTNING STRIKE

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, June 9, 2009

QTC Lightning Handicap (Quality - Listed) - 1000m. Time: 59.09.
Track - Heavy 8. Rail - out 4m.
1st - Keano 2nd - Black Ink 3rd - News Alert.

Keano demolished his opposition in no uncertain terms in the Lightning Handicap at Eagle Farm on Saturday to underline the fact that he could have a very bright future. The result obviously pleased Danny O’Brien, but it was also tinged with a touch of disappointment for the trainer as O’Brien was firmly of the conviction that Keano would have gone close to winning the Stradbroke if he had qualified for the big race.

You take what you get in this game though and, as O’Brien said with a view to the future, “He’ll get his day.”

It was an outstanding performance by Keano, who romped home 2.30 lengths clear of the old war-horse Blank Ink. The favourite News Alert finished in a well-beaten third placing.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Danny O’Brien: “It’s a shame. I honestly thought he would have won the Stradbroke if he’d had the right prep and that and got into the race, you know. He would have picked it up. He’s a very, very good horse. That’s his first look at the wet track and he got through it alright. He’s a good horse. He’s only had eight starts. He’ll get his day. We’ll get our chance to win at Group 1 level, but we’ll have to wait till he’s four now. That’s OK. That’s alright. It could be worse. He could be slow. I’d rather have an unlucky fast horse than a slow one that gets all the breaks.

“As I said, I thought he could have won the Stradbroke if he got into the race. Because of the races he should have won, he didn’t. He just didn’t get on the right leg. He’s a very nice horse, and this preparation up here will make him into a better horse. He’ll run here in a fortnight on Tatts Cup day in the 1200m Group 3 race. Then we’ll take him back to Melbourne for the Spring.

“I think maybe a 1200m race will suit him at this stage ... we’ll look at maybe the Salinger or something with him. It would be ideal for him and maybe there are some good sprints for him in Melbourne in the autumn. He’ll get to Group 1 company, but it’ll be a little later than I would have liked, but anyway. The Newmarket will suit him for sure. He has just got to win his big race now!

Jockey Corey Brown: “He’s a very nice horse. Last start at Doomben when I rode him he had absolutely no luck. It probably really wasn’t his sort of track. He got back a little bit and made runs from the 600m, but then run into nothing but traffic jams up the straight. So, we put him on the big track today. He didn’t draw the ideal marble with the way the track’s racing, but he was able to come back and he won as he liked.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Keano): 4.00 out to 4.60.
Favourite (News Alert): 3.00 in to 2.80 out to 3.00. Finished third.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
News Alert jumped away awkwardly and faltered. Near the 600m News Alert shifted in and momentarily tightened the running of Forestreno. As a result Forestreno shifted in making contact with Hail Free’s hind quarters. Keano, which was racing back and to the inside of Hail Free, suffered minor inconvenience as a result. News Alert lost its off-fore plate in running.

C. Brown (Keano) explained that not long after the start there was some crowding to his outside and rather than be involved in this he elected to press forward and accordingly the horse was closer to the lead than had been expected.

G. Boss (Martini Red) said that before the race the trainer had told him the horse had an awkward action. He said that he tested the horse out but in the straight when it felt ungenerous underneath him he decided it was in the best interests of all concerned to ease Martini Red down. He concluded by saying that the trainer told him after the race that Martini Red is now to be retired and go to stud.