A TWO VENUE DOUBLE FOR KO THOROUGHBRED RACING

By Graham Potter | Saturday, February 3, 2024

KO Racing enjoyed a two venue double on February 3, with Waterworld saluting at Ipswich and Touch Of Gracie winning at Toowoomba ... with Geran stable on fire with a total of three winners on the day.

In an absolutely rousing finish, Waterworld got the ball rolling for the stable in a Class 2 Plate over 1100m.

The gelding certainly had the credentials to be able to claim the result here having a win and a close-up fourth place (in town) to his name in his two results leading into this race. Those were his first two runs for the Geran stable after relocating from trainer Nathan Doyle.

The win was solid enough, albeit on the Gold Coast Poly Track, where the field standards are not necessarily that high ... but all you can do is beat the opposition on offer ... so arguable the fourth place finish behind Tikka Ready at Doomben was a better pointer as to Waterworld’s current level of progress.

That was Tikka Ready’s second successive win and, at the time of writing, Tikka Ready has gone on the stretch his unbeaten sequence to four wins ... which puts Waterworld’s fourth place effort behind that runner in positive perspective.

Michael Cahill partnered Waterworld in those two runs and the highly experienced rider was again in the saddle for the son of Headwater’s Ipswich assignment in which he only faced four runners.

One of those, the Kris Lees trained Osterberg, went head-to-head with Waterworld in the betting market which eventually would have Waterworld at $2.10 and Osterberg at $2.15 at the jump.

Very little between them on the betting boards ... very little between them in the finish! That is exactly how the race panned out ... and what a thriller it was as the race quickly turned into the two-horse contest the betting had predicted.

Coming to the home turn, Cahill eased Waterworld up alongside Osterberg, who had led early, and these two runners straightened together ... and they remained locked together all the way down the home straight, with neither prepared to give an inch.

Even at the line, Waterworld and Osterberg were very difficult to separate by the naked eye. The impression was that Cahill had got Waterworld to get the bob in when it mattered most ... but there had to be a wait for conformation of the result ... which did come down in favour of Waterworld ... before the celebrations could begin.

As the saying goes ... it doesn’t matter how much you win by.
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One race later the Corey and Kylie Geran stable was in the winner’s enclosure again ... this time after Tokyo Sins saluted in a manner which was less stressful for connections than the tough battle fought by Waterworld ... with Tokyo Sins victory margin in a BM62 over 1100m being a clearcut 1.50 lengths.

Tokyo Sins was earning her due reward for a high level of consistency having never finished out of the first three places in seven starts since transferring to the Geran yard ... that’s three wins, two seconds and two third places ... further evidence of just how well Corey and Kylie Geran do with tried horses that come into their yard.

There is a string of results in this regard that stand to the stable’s credit.
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And more evidence of that was to follow five hours later when Touch Of Gracie won a Maiden Handicap over 1000m at Toowoomba’s night meeting in her first run for the Geran stable after transferring from the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace yard.

The lightly raced Toronado mare had raced seven times for the powerhouse stable down south ... from Ballarat to Euchuca to Warracknabeal to Horsham ... where a lone second place finish was her best result.

Touch Of Gracie came into her first run for the Geran’s first-up off a four-and-a-half month break from race action. She touched as much as $20 in the betting before punters came for the four-year-old, with her price shortening to what still would turn out to be a generous starting price of $8.

The bookmakers wouldn’t have been particularly concerned early in the running when Touch Of Gracie settled second last some five lengths off the leader. They still would have been unfazed with Touch Of Gracie even further back in the approach to the home turn ... and, even when Nozi Tomizawa saved ground and started to push forward to emerge on straightening in third place, the four length deficit still looked to be a bridge too far for the Gearn trained runner.

Tomizawa had the option to continue down the inside, but he elected to switch out across heels and target a run down the centre of the track.

Once in a position to strike, Touch Of Gracie changed gears and showed full commitment to the cause to make up ground quickly and, ultimately, do enough to run down the $7 chance Serapus inside the last 50m.

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