COLLEAGUES' WET WEATHER FORM SHINES THROUGH

By Graham Potter | Friday, July 5, 2024

The David Vandyke trained Colleagues confirmed his prowess on a heavy racing surface when he claimed his third win in four starts on heavy going, taking out a BM68 Handicap over 1350m at Ipswich on July 5.

Colleagues has yet to finish out of the money on a heavy track, winning three times and finishing third once in four starts on a heavy surface ... and the son of Reliable Man duly got the job done again here as the $2.80 favourite, but he had to earn the result in a competitive finish which saw less than two lengths cover the first four runners across the line.

Colleagues was only ordinarily away at the jump and Vlad Duric, who was having his first ride on Colleagues, had his mount just worse than midfield in eighth place some four-and-a-half lengths off the lead in the early part.

Colleagues held the rail position in a fairly close-knit field in the sweep to the home turn ... and for a while that passage seemed to be something of a double-edged sword as Colleagues saved ground throughout, but also looked likely to run into traffic problems on the point of the home turn.

The latter certainly looked to be the case on straightening where Colleagues was faced with a wall of horses in front of him, but when Noble Beauty ($14) sprinted quickly along the rail ahead of him, it made room for Colleagues to follow Noble Beauty forward.

Colleagues still needed some winding up by Duric though, but when the Vandyke trained runner did quicken, he did so with meaning.

Such was his acceleration when it mattered most, Colleagues cut back a two-and-a-half length deficit at the 200m mark with every stride, snaking between Noble Beauty and Casrock ($7.50), who had looked set to fight out the finish, to already hit the front inside the final 75m before going on the clinch the race by a tidy enough 0.88 lengths.

Colleagues race record now reads for wins and four minor placings from eighteen starts ... and this latest win pushed his career earnings through the $100 000 barrier to $101 500.

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