EAGLE FARM REVIEW (SAT, NOV 15)

A review of the meeting held at Eagle Farm on Saturday, November 15.

Race 1:

2YO C & G Handicap - 1000m
1st - Big Tony; 2nd - Craiglea Scorcher; 3rd - False Accusation

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Trevor Miller: “The horse knuckled over at the start first time out. Then he raced erratically after that so I had no hesitation putting the blinkers on this time. That kept him focussed and you saw the difference it made. And he’s still got a lot of improvement to come this one. Once he learns to gallop properly he could go on to be very useful.

Good early speed carried Big Tony into the lead by a length early on. Jockey Ken Pope held him together until the turn where Big Tony railed neatly before applying more pressure which was enough to keep the persistent challenge of Craiglea Scorcher at bay.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Fast Lover (S. Seamer) jumped out at the start and made contact with Big Tony (K. Pope). Passing the 700m King Salsa (J. Bowditch) had to be steadied when tightened for room by Perfect Option which shifted in and away from Craiglea Scorcher (A. Coome) which shifted in. Indiana (J. Byrne) was inclined to lay in under pressure in the straight. A post-race veterinary examination of Fast Lover revealed the colt to be shin sore in both forelegs. Trainer M. Thexton was advised that she must produce a veterinary certificate of fitness prior to the horse's next start. A post-race veterinary examination of King Salsa failed to reveal any abnormalities. A post-race veterinary examination of Perfect Option revealed the gelding to be shin sore in the near foreleg. Trainer E. Hayes was advised that he must produce a veterinary certificate of fitness prior to the horse's next start.


Race 2:

F & M (NMW) Handicap - 1200m
1st - Insistence; 2nd - Satsang; 3rd - Acquired

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Jockey Michael Palmer: “Her first-up run was good last time. This time she got the drop on them at the top of the straight and controlled things from there. The other one (Satsang) wouldn’t go away, but she was just too strong for them today.”

Insistence chased well from an outside draw to settle in a clear second placing, one wide behind the front-running Mini View. The mare then moved up to challenge the leader turning for home and quickly took the measure of Mini View. From the moment the balance of the field were left chasing. Satsang led that charge and, despite a determined effort, she could not make any significant inroads into Insistence’s winning advantage.

Insistence was the second winner in an hour for the Gillian Heinrich stable. Earlier, they had won the first race at the Gold Coast with Feline Flyer.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Apprentice J. Jones, the rider of Mini View, pleaded guilty to a charge of careless riding under AR. 137(a), the careless riding being that near the 1000m he permitted his mount to shift in when insufficiently clear of Insistence (Michael Palmer), which was taken in, dictating the line of She’s A Mountain (S. Scriven) and as a result of that horse being dictated in it has taken Satsang (Matthew Palmer) in on to Pickastar (M. Hughes), which had to be checked and lost its position. Apprentice Jones' licence to ride in races was suspended for a period of 7 meetings, with the term of suspension to commence immediately and expire at midnight on Thursday, 27 November 2008.
Pickastar and Yatala(C. McIver) raced wide throughout.


Race 3:

One Metro Win Handicap - 1800m
1st - Bugsytwoshoes; 2nd - Bell Academy; 3rd - Jujulio

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer David Kelly: “I’ve had the horse for seven runs now (from Gerald Ryan). I’ve really clicked with the horse and he obviously thrives in the Queensland weather. He’s super consistent and we knew he would get the trip so it was just a question of whether he would be good enough – and he was.”

Jockey Paul Hammersley: “He took a long time to pick up the bit because they went a quickly early. But when he did pick it up from the half mile he went on really well. He was travelling that well I knew I had them covered a long way out.”

The fluency of Bugsytwoshoes’s win is highlighted by the manner in which it was achieved. Drawn in the car park, Hammersley eased his mount across heels to settle second last a full dozen lengths off the lead in the early part. When the forward move came it was made out wide in the sweep to the turn, with Hammersley eventually forced to extract Bugsytwoshoes a full six wide on the turn. But he had daylight in front of him then and he quickened with meaning to reel in his rivals with ease to even allow Hammersley time to pose for the photographers at the line.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
As S. Galloway was to be overweight, S. Seamer was substituted as the rider of Brief Me. S. Galloway was fined $200 under AR. 120(b). Altaica (A. Taylor) was tightened on jumping away between D’Elcatraz (T. Pannell) and Bell Academy (J. Byrne) which shifted in. Altaica then raced ungenerously for some distance.
Southerly Impact (R. Goltz) over-raced in the early stages. Ostra (K. Pope) raced wide throughout. Southerly Impact was held up for clear running in the early stages of the straight. The track rating was upgraded to Good 3 following the running of this event.


Race 4:

Open Handicap - 1000m
1st - Instructed; 2nd - Steptoe; 3rd - Sequallan

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Jockey Darren Coleman: “I was caught wide the whole way but Danny (Bowen) told me beforehand not to panic. He said I should just let the horse run his own race. I was still very wide and way back on the turn but he is such a tough horse he just kept putting in. He’s used to having to fight for things. He used to carrying heavy weights. Remember, he was down 7.5kg on his last run. He carried 62kg last time at Grafton. So when the weight was telling on some of the others he was thinking, how easy is this. He just flew over the last 100m.”

Never able to get in from a very wide draw, Coleman bided his time on Instructed. The duo were very wide and last on the turn, but they had conserved energy by not chasing hard early and there was plenty left in the tank when Coleman asked his mount for a serious effort. The big horse likes nothing better than a fight and took to his task with meaning and he pounded all of his opposition into submission with a superb, strong, sustained run to carry the day in impressive fashion.

Just a word on the runner-up here – or rather a word on trainer Danny Bougoure. The man who took the great Falvelon to a string of high profile successes made his reappearance as a trainer in Queensland for the first time following a four-year sortie down south. Bougoure’s runner Steptoe, racing at attractive double figure odds, looked like he making it a winning comeback for his trainer when he hit the front inside the final 50m but he was cut down in the shadow of the post by the flying Instructed.
Trainer Danny Bougoure: “That was just a bit a match practise, mate. He’ll improve with the run and is a better horse over 1200m.”

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
As K. Pope was to be overweight, A. Spinks was substituted as the rider of Leather. K. Pope was fined $100 under AR. 120(b). Approaching the 900m Steptoe (D. Craven) had to be steadied when tightened for room between Tornadic Sky (J. Taylor), which was taken out slightly by Piccohi (P. Hammersley) and In A Circle (Michael Palmer). In A Circle and Instructed (D. Coleman) raced wide throughout. Sequallan (J. Byrne) laid in in the straight. Near the 50m Piccohi shifted out slightly and bumped Starlactic (B. Looker). A post-race veterinary examination of Anwaar (B. Pengelly), which finished last, failed to reveal any abnormalities.


Race 5:

C, G & E (NMW) Handicap - 1200m
1st - Old Trick; 2nd - Primeval Demand; 3rd - Millers Wheel

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer David Murphy: “That’s it for him mate. He’s finished now. On his history he had no right to be here but we thought we’d give him one last farewell. He’s done his suspensory three times. He’s had two ops on his knees. You couldn’t gallop him at one stage because his suspensory would just blow up. We take him swimming but he’s always half fit because of his issues. But he’s got a heart this big, mate – and a great temperament. Why did I risk another run? Because I knew he had it in him. I had my fingers crossed the whole way. It’s so good to see him go out on a high.”

Jockey Christian Reith: “We settled about fifth or sixth. He’s had problems so I saved him for his effort. He worked himself into it in the straight and finished off well.”

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
After being tightened on jumping away between Primeval Demand (P. Hammersley) and Old Trick (C. Reith), Another Takeover (J. Byrne) commenced to over-race and near the 1100m had to be steadied off the heels of Sun For Sale (S. Galloway). Near the 1000m Primeval Demand had to be steadied when tightened for room between Geebeetee (S. Cormack) and Another Takeover which, when continuing to over-race, shifted in after again being steadied off the heels of Sun For Sale. Another Takeover continued to over-race for some distance. Count Henry (A. Taylor), Andamon and Reincarnation (R. Goltz) raced wide throughout. Near the 300m D. Ballard, the rider of Headlight, accidentally dropped his whip. Between the 300m and the 200m Old Trick was momentarily impeded when obtaining a narrow run between Sun For Sale and Count Henry. Passing the 200m Intermac (J. Taylor) was held up for clear running for a short distance.
When questioned regarding the performance of Another Takeover, jockey J. Byrne stated that as the horse had been a little slow to begin at its previous starts, he ensured that the horse jumped with the field today, however shortly after jumping the horse commenced to over-race and did so for a considerable distance. He added that this was detrimental to the horse's performance. His explanation was noted. Another Takeover lost its off hind plate in running.
Jockey W. Wheatley, the rider of Smokin Dave, was fined $100 for returning to scale in excess of half a kilogram overweight.


Race 6:

Quality (Listed) Handicap - 1600m
1st - Alverta; 2nd - Nellie Got There; 3rd - Hard To Catch

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Paul Messara: “I was worried when she didn’t get away that well, but Shane gave her a great ride after that. This is the soundest she’s been in any preparation and I’ll probably keep her going. There’s a Listed race (the Recognition) in a couple of weeks time and we’ll head for that. She needs to race Set Weight races. She comes into those well. Handicaps are more difficult. I actually want to put her over further. I think she’ll be good over 2000m. The Sydney Autumn Carnival will be a target. She’ll have various options there.”

Jockey Shane Scriven: “I was ready to chase early if need be, but when she dipped at the start I let her recover her composure naturally. She did that without any fuss and did everything right after that. Good win.”

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Alverta (S. Scriven) blundered on jumping away. Alverta lost its off-fore plate in running. A post-race veterinary examination of Mr Hornblower revealed that the gelding was sore in the off foreleg. Trainer T. Green was advised that she must provide a veterinary clearance prior to the horse's next start.


Race 7:

Class 6 Plate - 1400m
1st - Hey Elvis; 2nd - Heart Of The Citi; 3rd - Lucky Luna

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Bruce Hill: “He’s a real good horse. Even though he bled (back in April) – and that was a real pain in the arse when it happened – it probably did him a whole lot of good. It allowed him all that more time to mature. He’s a really good horse.”

Jockey Paul Hammersley: “He’s come back real good. You know Bruce (Hill) has taken his time with him and the he’s really going well. He travelled beautifully throughout and when it came down to a two horse race (with Heart Of The City) he just had that little bit extra and that was the difference over the last 100m.”

For the record, Heart Of The Citi was Mandy Radecker’s last ride as an apprentice. She comes out of her time on Monday (November 17).

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Intramuros (Michael Palmer) jumped in at the start and made contact with the hind quarters of Malandrina (R. McMahon). A short distance later Intramuros had to be steadied when further tightened for room between Malandrina and Hey Elvis (P. Hammersley) which shifted in. Near the 100m Moppett (B. Pengelly) shifted in and bumped Rockem (R. Goltz) and as a result Moppett then became unbalanced for a short distance. Jockey R. McMahon, the rider of Malandrina, was fined $100 under AR. 145 for returning to scale in excess of half a kilogram overweight.


Race 8:

3YO Handicap - 1000m
1st - Power Of George; 2nd - Congenial; 3rd - High Roll'n Woman

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Helen Page: “Everybody was telling me this was not the right race for him. They said it was too difficult. But my husband said, ‘you know the horse best, you must do what you think is right.’ We knew he had the speed and that his speed is one of his biggest assets. So we thought we should use it from the wide draw. Our thinking was if we went back and tried to get clever with him, we’d probably get caught out. I’m just so pleased we got it right, particularly as we’ve had to wait for this run. If you can get a message to the programmers, there was just no other 1000m race for him other than this. We need more 1000m options.”

Jockey Jason Taylor: “Yeah, he’s got some speed alright. They made him work though, those horses on the inside, but he’s got tons of ability. I think the connections were hopeful but would have been happy if he ran fourth. He really showed his worth here. It was a very good win.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
High Roll’n Woman (J. Byrne), which jumped away awkwardly, shifted in and made heavy contact with Pegunny Roy (J. Bowditch). As a result Pegunny Roy shifted in and made heavy contact with Pandemonia (S. Scriven). Pandemonia then commenced to over-race. Woorim (E. Wilkinson) was slow to begin. Congenial (L. Rolls) jumped outwards at the start and made contact with Carry The Clubs (J. Jones). Congenial then became unbalanced and shifted back in and brushed Miss Teapot (N. Thomas). Approaching the 700m High Roll’n Woman had to be steadied when tightened for room between Pegunny Roy and Aspiran (J. Byrne) which shifted in slightly. Passing the 700m Zebakwe shifted out and made contact with Pandemonia which, when continuing to over-race, shifted out and made contact with Pegunny Roy. As a result Pegunny Roy became unbalanced and lost ground. High Roll’n Woman, which was racing to that horse's outside, was inconvenienced in consequence. A short distance later Pandemonia, which had continued to over-race, had to be checked when tightened for room between Zebakwe and Aspiran (A. Pattillo), which shifted in. when not clear. Jockey A. Pattillo was reprimanded and advised to exercise more care in similar circumstances. Near the 450m Congenial shifted in and made heavy contact with Pegunny Roy, resulting in both horses becoming unbalanced. Approaching the 400m Calm Before shifted out to improve around the heels of Pandemonia and in doing so took Pegunny Roy out on to Congenial and as a result both Congenial and Pegunny Roy became unbalanced and made contact on several occasions.