ALL THE ACTION FROM THE SUNSHINE COAST

A reveiw of the meeting held at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday, September 7.

Race1:

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Kevin Keidge must have been smiling.

Keidge, who passed away last month after a short battle with illness, was the former trainer of Mymysherona who took out the opening event on the card.

“The only reason I have the horse is because of Kevin’s illness,” said trainer Col Parker.

“We are just keeping up his good work honestly,” said Parker. “He just didn’t have the time to give it a couple of runs over more ground. That’s all she needed.”

Apprentice jockey Michael Hellyer was rapt with the win.

“She’s still so green,” said Hellyer, “but we knew that from her work.

“She’s still learning and is a bit of a difficult ride because of that,” continued Hellyer.

“But one good thing is she does relax. She falls asleep in the race, but responds when you ask her. Like a say, she’s still learning.

“She’s going to win a lot more races.”

I suggested Hellyer should try and keep the ride then.

“My boss won’t take me off,” answered Hellyer with a smile.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Mymysherona raced greenly in the early stages. When the pace slackened near the 900m, Copernica (S. Cormack) improved up on to the heels of Indiofera (K. Wharton) and had to be steadied. Indigofera (K. Wharton) hung out on the turn near the 800 and continued to do so for the remainder of the race. Cash Fortune (B. El-Issa) was inclined to shift out under pressure in the straight and near the 150m shifted out, inconveniencing Montazoa.
When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of Montazoa, jockey S. Galloway stated that, in his opinion, the gelding, which was up in weight today, failed to run out the 1400 metre distance of today's event. A post-race veterinary examination of Montazoa failed to reveal any abnormalities.


Race 2:

WINNER FEEDBACK:
“Must be a good horse for you to win on him,” joked trainer Frank Phillips, talking to apprentice jockey Owen Turpin.

The horse Phillips was referring to was Raining Kings, who shed his Maiden ticket at his twenty-fourth start.

It was Raining Kings second run over 1600m and he won with something in hand after a no-nonsense, rails hugging ride by Turpin.

Did the 1600m trip made the difference?

“I’d like to say ‘yes’, but I don’t know about that,” answered Phillips.

“I must say that Kylie Cunningham had the ride last time and she came back and said the 1600m suits the horse. She said she just couldn’t get a run and that he would win next time. So she was right.

“It might have taken him a lot of runs to win, but he has brought in enough money to pay the bills,” continued Phillips.

“I would say though that he has limited ability and might struggle to win a Class 1.”

“The other thing I need to say is that Raining Kings has got the worst bunch of owners that a trainer has ever had to deal with,” said Phillips, again with the twinkle in the eye as the owners smiled broadly behind him.

For Turpin, the race game-plan was a simple one.

“I was always going to go down the rail,” said Turpin. “That’s where the first race winner scored.

“They fan out here. They always do it ... but they forgot the rail was out today so the best going was on the rail itself.

“He did beat an average bunch though, but all you can do is win,” concluded Turpin.

Raining Kings was the first leg of a double on the day for both trainer and rider.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Regal George (M. Morris) raced keenly in the early stages. The Ultimate Act (A. Merritt) raced fiercely for some distance passing the 1200m, and was then obliged to race wide from that point.


Race 3:

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Guissepino scored first-up after a five month layoff in her first outing for the Liam Birchley yard.
“She went back to the 1000m because of the layoff, “explained Birchley.

“She couldn’t really go anywhere in the running being caught three wide without any cover for part of the trip.

"She finished off well when given the chance though.”

Jockey Ryan Wiggins described the finish of the race.

“They left me a little bit of a gap and she really lengthened her stride well,” said Wiggins. “She was feeling it a bit in the last strides but that’s understandable first-up.”

This was the Falvelon mare’s second win from seven starts.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Princes Ginachenka (S. Galloway) raced greenly for some distance near the 600m. Passing the 200m, Princes Ginachenka had to be steadied and shifted wider on the track to obtain clear running. Emgee Em Grand (A. Spinks) raced wide throughout.


Race 4:

WINNER FEEDBACK:
It might only have been a Maiden at the Sunshine Coast but trainer Troy Hall is now part of an exclusive club of trainers who have won a race named after themselves.

It was General Purple who saluted for Hall in the Troy Hall Leading Strike Rate Trainer Handicap, and he did so in decisive fashion.

All of General Purple’s previous four starts were in the city and that form simply proved to be too strong for his rivals here.

“He has plenty of ability,” offered Hall, “but he is still a bit immature upstairs. He’s going to make a very nice horse.”

Jockey Ryan Wiggins was aboard General Purple, giving the rider back to back wins after his success on Guissepino one race earlier.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Renegade Dancer (M. Hughes) raced greenly for some distance near the 1000m. Passing the 200m, Cash On Arrival (C. Whiteley) was inconvenienced when racing to the inside of Smartness (S. Cormack), which shifted in abruptly. Cash On Arrival (C. Whiteley) raced wide throughout.


Race 5:

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Apprentice Owen Turpin completed a double with a faultless ride on the Peter Blackwell trained Fortunatus Fidelis.

“Peter just said to me to be aware that he is pretty much a one-pace horse,” said Turpin.

“He said I could do what I wanted with the horse, as long as I took into account he wasn’t going to accelerate away from them.

“So I decided to go forward and let him roll and put him in a position where he could win ... and he just kept going to the line.”

Fortunatus Fidelis was the longest priced winner on the day.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Near the 1200m, Media Fund (S. Galloway) had to be steadied when crowded for room by Paraja (A. Spinks), which shifted in when not clear. S. Spinks, rider of Paraja, was reprimanded. See The Flames (M. Hughes) raced keenly for some distance near the 1200m.


Race 6:

WINNER FEEDBACK:
The old racing adage, ‘the smaller the field, the bigger the upset,’ again rang true in this four horse contest.

Three runners were fairly close together in the betting. One runner, Grab The Phone, was clearly the outsider of the group. Grab The Phone won.

In fact, Grab The Phone won untroubled after being allowed a soft lead up front and being subjected to little pressure in the straight, courtesy of a perfectly rated ride by jockey Chris Whiteley.

“I’ve ridden him about seven times and I know the horse well,” said Whiteley. “Had a bit of success with him too.

“I know he likes to lead and so I just him do his thing until the straight,” continued Whiteley.
“The tempo picked up from there.

"When I saw Grecolo (the favourite) drop off I though, gee we might have a chance here. I wasn’t worried about Court Adjourned, but I knew Watchyerback would come on.

“We just kept kicking and got there.”

Eden Petrie, stable foreman for Dale Sutton, takes up the story.

“We had him right before EI but since then we’ve had so much trouble with his feet,” said Petrie. “That’s why we had the bar plates back on again.

“Apart from that, match fitness was also a worry (Grab The Phone was returning from a twenty month layoff) but Chris (Whiteley) rode him beautifully and they got the job done.”

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Court Adjourned (S. Cormack) was momentarily held up on straightening. Grecolo(R. McMahon) was inclined to hang out under pressure in the home straight and near the 150m shifted out, inconveniencing Court Adjourned (S. Cormack).


Race 7:

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Frank Phillips completed a double on the day when Plenty Of Practise outgunned Lachlan Valley in the chase to the line, under a strong ride from Scott Galloway, to score for the third time in eleven starts.

“I thought he’d run better race in town last time,” said Phillips. “I couldn’t find a reason for that disappointment so I thought I’d bring him back here again.

“Now we are none the wiser as to what was wrong because he has won well today.”

Nice way to resolve a problem.

“And we are the second worst group of owners Frank has,” said one of Plenty Of Practise’s owners as he walked by on his way the room where club officials take every winning owner for a celebratory drink.

Frank Phillips watched his winning owners enter the room, then he turned to his fellow trainer Paddy Cunningham and said mischievously, “Have you been in there today yet? It’s my second time.”

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Near the 900m, Blueberry Star (A. Spinks) improved up on to the heels of Plenty Of Practise (S. Galloway) and had to be steadied. Blueberry Star was inclined to shift out under pressure in the straight. Smiley Jack (B. Pengelly) shifted in under pressure in the straight.


Race 8:

WINNER FEEDBACK:
It was welcome back Jason Taylor time as the jockey guided Ice Delight to a well deserved victory.

This was Taylor’s first win since resuming riding after being sidelined from an injury sustained in a fall when Ben Hur crashed through the rail when leading at Doomben on August 16.

Ice Delight, a four-year-old mare by Monashee Mountain, confirmed that she has fair potential by winning for the second time in her last three starts.

She came back like any good favourite should, to the joy of her owners whose happy arrival at the winners’ enclosure clearly showed just how much they are enjoying the journey.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Social Pass (T. Pannell) shifted in and bumped Lady Illusion (C. Reith) near the 700m. Hot Pride (R. McMahon) had some difficulty obtaining clear running over the concluding stages. Social Pass (T. Pannell) raced wide throughout.
When questioned regarding the performance of Social Pass, T. Pannell stated that passing the 800m his saddle slipped, placing him at a disadvantage for the remainder of the event. A post-race veterinary examination of Lady Illusion revealed the mare to be sore in front. Trainer B. Brown was advised that a veterinary certificate would be required prior to its next race start.