LIPP SCORES ONE FOR QUEENSLAND

By Graham Potter | Thursday, June 11, 2009

Four of the five Group 1 and Group 2 races contested at Eagle Farm last Saturday fell to visiting trainers. It was left to Rex Lipp to salvage some of the spoils for the locals and he did so by claiming victory with Express Air in the Group 2, Queensland Guineas.

It was a welcome return to form for Express Air. The run was due, and it was only a matter of time before she produced her best again, but the ride of Craig Williams made an outstanding contribution to the result.

Williams takes the responsibility for giving his horse every chance in a race to a new level. His walking of the course in order to establish where he might track in the race to find the better going is well-known. But he can still surprise you!

When the winner and the place-getters came back to be led into the enclosure after the running of the seventh race on Saturday, the riders had time to stop and have a chat to Williams who was again out there in the centre of the track searching for that winning edge. This, when there was only one race left on the card!

The Group 1’s of the day had been won and lost ... but there was no respite for Williams and his pre-race preparation. Ever the consummate professional, he still had the ride on Express Air in the Guineas. He needed to know what he was going to do. No effort was too much for him, even so late in the day – and the result speaks for itself.

On the basis of his observations, both before racing and from the saddle, Williams is thus arguably the best placed to comment on the condition of the track on Stradbroke day. His concluding comment (see Winner Feedback) on this aspect of the race-day make interesting reading.

Queensland Guineas (Group 2 - 3yo’s) - 1600m. Time: 1-39.81
Track - Heavy 8. Rail - out 4m.
1 Express Air; 2 Marveen; 3 La Etoile.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Rex Lipp: “Look, her whole preparation this time has been absolutely the wrong way ... everything has just gone wrong. We had bad tracks ... right through. Her first two starts were on hard rock tracks which she doesn’t like. Then the other day she just got back a little bit too far ... got on the wrong side of the track where the going was terrible ... and she did run up the backsides of them, but on the line she was doing as well as anything. But today she got a beautiful run through and she was just spot on.

“She can’t hustle her. She jumps with them, but for the next twenty metres I could run as fast as her. She has just got no early pace. You have just got to let her find her feet. She can make up ground fast.

“Look, I’ll probably take her to the Winter Stakes. Craig Williams ... I don’t know if he’ll come back for that meeting. If he comes back, I’d be very happy if he was on her!”

Jockey Craig Williams: “She’s really good. We looked at her form and on her best day she is right up to these horses. Rex (Lipp) was really happy with the way she has come on. We just had to have her happy within herself. One thing she did today, she actually began really well which was a lot more favourable for me. They had good tempo. I didn’t have to take her off the bridle at all.

“She always travelled really good for me. When I asked her to after entering the straight ... I immediately went back to the inside ... and she was always going to start picking up. She really had a hard fight to run down Marveen but she really stuck her head out and deserved to win.

“I am coming back for the Winter Stakes, but I’m already riding either Ortensia or Chinchilla Rose.

“As far as the track is concerned, they have done a great job. You know they can’t control the weather. One thing today, you either win from up in front or you either win from behind. You are able to make a run a little bit wide ... but one thing about the track today is that it raced very even and, more importantly, I felt you just had to have a horse that travelled in the going. If you had a horse that travelled, I was happy to save ground.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Express Air): 14.00 steady.
Favourite (Youthful Jack): 4.60 out to 5.00 in to 4.00. Finished twelfth.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
A post-race veterinary examination of Youthful Jack revealed that the gelding was exhibiting an abnormal respiratory noise. Trainer A. Denham was advised that he must produce the results of an endoscopic examination before Youthful Jack is permitted to start.

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