ISLAND TIDE IS ALREADY A SUCCESS STORY

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, July 9, 2024

The second race at Kilcoy on July 9 was a BM58 Handicap over 800m.

This looked a race for Island Tide. The betting clearly indicated this was a race for Island Tide. The track (Kilcoy) and distance (800m) and inside barrier draw (number two) provided a race package that was tailor-made for Island Tide.

But this is racing and nothing is guaranteed ... until it is ... and with Island Tide turning up in a no-nonsense mood, the expected result was already effectively in the frame long before the daughter of All Too Hard crossed the line.

She did that with 4.30 lengths to spare on the best of the rest without ever being extended. She did that under the steadying burden of 60kg (62kg less the claim for Landan Skyes) and she stopped the clock in a marginally better time than she did when she previously won over the same track and distance back on June 2 (45.00 seconds compared to 45.07 seconds) ... the point there being that he carried a significant 6kg more on this occasion..

So, clearly, we are talking about a fit, happy and healthy horse here and credit is due to Corey and Kylie Geran for their handling of Island Tide, with the four-year-old having now won three out of four starts since transferring to the Geran stable.

As already indicated, the race went perfectly to script and there is basically little to add to the story of a simple cakewalk.

Pushed into the lead early by Landan Sykes, who knows and handles Island Tide well, the Geran trained runner was already two lengths clear of his nearest rival approaching the home turn and her position of authority was never in danger of being challenged in the home straight as she raced to away to his most comfortable win yet ... the 4.30 length margin eclipsing his 3.50 length margin of her last start win.

That means Island Tide has now made it back-to-back wins in her last two starts via a combined winning margin of 7.80 lengths.

In four starts for the Geran stable Island Tide has earned $33 420 in prizemoney, having long since recouped his purchase price of ... would you believe ... $3000!

So,she is already a success story.

The GG Racing team has clearly got it all together ... and apprentice Landa Sykes is very much part of that, having ridden Island Tide in all of her four starts for the Geran stable.
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A day later, on July 10 at Eagle Farm, in a Class 1 Handicap over 1600m, GG Racing and Corey and Kylie Geran snared another very satisfying result when Jenni Moreese finished second to the Chris Waller trained Tannenburg, who was having his first run in Queensland.

While the win is the ultimate, for GG Racing to have the first Metropolitan runner in their colours run such a gutsy race and achieve such a positive result .... well, it might not have been as good as a win, but it was certainly the next best thing and it put a smile on the faces of all of the filly’s connections.

Jenni Moreese raced in midfield early, held wide some five lengths off the speed. She cornered all of six wide, was buffeted at the top of the straight ... yet still kept coming to get within just 0.62 lengths of the winner.

The lightly raced three-year-old daughter of Maurice has only raced six times for a win and two second placings. The previous time she finished second, she was able to build on that and win at her next start, so ... watch this space!

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