SUNSHINE COAST REVIEW (SUN, MAR 22)

A review of the meeting held at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday. March 22.
Racing was switched from the scheduled grass meeting to the Cushion Track.

Race 1:

4yo & Up Maiden Plate - 1600m
1st - Real Grand; 2nd - National Soldier; 3rd - Dane Raider

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Ian Jackson: “He’s been very consistent and very honest. He is just a lovely horse to be with. Very friendly ... very quiet. He is a good horse to ride at home. I’ve done a bit of show-jumping on him as well. It has taken a while, but he deserved to get his win.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Real Grand): 3.80 out to 4.20.
Favourite (National Soldier): 2.50 out to 2.60 in to 2.50. Finished second.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Dane Raider (N. Thomas) had a tendency to over-race whilst racing wide during the early stages. Near the 300m, Kinda Modern (J. Piper) was forced to check when attempting to take a tight run to the inside of Shaqino, which shifted in. J. Piper, rider of Kinda Modern, was advised to exercise more care in similar circumstances. Dane Raider (N. Thomas) had a tendency to lay in throughout the event.


Race 2:

3yo & Up Maiden Plate - 1200m
1st - Kalinga Lady; 2nd - Renegade Dancer; 3rd - Go Rainey

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Carmel Richardson: “She keeps drawing the bad alley. She draws outside every time we nominate her. She got it again today and we said, no you’ve just got to run now. The plan was just to lead and then hope she could keep going. She did. She finished off well. She has been racing well all of the time. She’s just had no luck.”

Jockey Tony Pattillo: “Yeah, we just went forward from the outside draw. We just jumped on the bunny. She ran really good. She was sort of struggling to get the 1000m and we didn’t know which way to go with her. Once we got up to a little bit further along the road, the 1200m – well we had to come back to 1100m because they switched to the Cushion Track – but it is still that extra bit of distance where they go a little bit slower and we thought that might suit her better. She got to the lead. She got it on her own and she dictated. She was strong enough at the line. I was quite happy with the way she won. I think she can win another couple of races. Fingers crossed.”

PRICE FLUTUATIONS:
Winner (Kalinga Lady): 3.30 out to 3.50 in to 2.80.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
As C. McIver was ill, D. Griffin was substituted as the rider of Kalinga Echo. Trainer N. Flouskos was given permission by the stewards to race Stalwart Garza without hoof pads. The start of this race was delayed when Stalwart Twist (M. Morris) reared and became cast in the barriers. Stalwart Twist was examined by the club's veterinary surgeon and cleared to race. I’m All Yours (A. Badger) was slow to begin. Imposing Belle (S. Galvin) lost ground when was tightened for room at the start. Red Rocker (N. Thomas) and Stalwart Twist (M. Morris), which jumped away awkwardly. Kalinga Echo (D. Griffin) and Coolbadah Comet (R. Hinricks) raced wide throughout. A post-race veterinary examination of Stalwart Twist revealed the horse to have been galloped on on the off-fore pastern.


Race 3:

3yo Class 2 Handicap - 1400m
1st - River Perfume; 2nd - Papal Joy; 3rd - Qwerty

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Charlie Weston: “She had good city form (finishing a couple of length back to the likes of the smart Seesawing and Meet George in her last two starts). I wasn’t certain how she would handle the track, but she went good. She was second-up today and went up in distance little bit (from 1300m to 1400m). I think she’ll get a mile or better – 2000m, I think. She usually likes the outside, but she ranalright today on the inside which is another plus.”

Jockey Shree Drake: “Yeah, we stuck on the fence early. She is a horse that gets back, so sometimes it is not an advantage having gate one. But I thought ... well, I did try to dig her out a bit ... but I I’m thinking, gee I’m near the lead - there must be no pace. But then everyone went forward. I was worried again she’d go back, but that was no problem with the small field. In the end we all had to fight. I didn’t want to go to the inside. I thought it was going to be softer and I wouldn’t pick up as much momentum. She gets kept fighting. It was a great finish.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (River Perfume): 3.30 out to 3.60.
Favourite (Papal Joy): 2.90 in to 2.80 out to 3.00. Finished second.

STEWARD REPORT EXTRACT:
La Bella Luisa (D. Griffin) was tightened for room at the start by between Qwerty (C. Reith) and Sir Reason (O. Turpin), which shifted out. Jockey A. Pattillo, rider of 2nd placegetter, Papal Joy, was fined $300 for returning to scale in excess of half a kilogram overweight. A post-race veterinary examination of Papal Joy revealed the presence of blood in the off nostril as a result of a laceration in that nostril.


Race 4:

Class 1 Handicap - 1000m
1st - Bonza Bronze; 2nd - Wonkavator; 3rd - Beautiful Memory

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Ron McCrae: “They rode him for speed last time and he just doesn’t hit the line, you know. So we designed it today to ride him back, so he could get home. I think he’ll go 1200m ridden quietly. He just doesn’t seem to want to breath if you hunt him up early. You get bad alleys and that is why they have had to use him up early to get across. He is definitely better ridden quietly.”

McCrae was then summoned to the Stewards Room, where apprentice Michael Hellyer, the rider of the third placed Beautiful Memory, had lodged a protest against the winner, Bonza Bronze.

Apprentice jockey Michael Hellyer (giving his grounds for objection): “At the start Christian Reith’s mount has jumped awkward. It’s crossed me at the start and put me on to Christian Reith’s heels. I therefore have had to grab hold. He’s bumped my horse off balance pretty badly. My horse usually is an on-pace runner. It sits second or third. I’ve lost all ground straight away. Being that my horse has only has a few starts, it’s knocked me off balance and I was a good ... at least three to four lengths off him after the incident. I’ve therefore had to use her up early to catch up to the field. In the straight, because I had to use her up early, she’s got nothing left.”

Jockey Christian Reith had no questions for apprentice Hellyer.

Jockey Christian Reith (making his statement): “If you look at the head-on film, definitely, my horse does begin awkward. I believe if you have a look at the horse in the pink colours in gate six (Questify), it jumps and shifts in, hits Michael Hellyer’s horse, which makes contact with mine. It hits my horses hindquarters, which puts my horse sideways. It makes it look like my horse bored out but actually, while my horse begin a bit awkward, you can see I steered it off. But when that horse outside has made contact with Michael Hellyer’s horse, it has cannoned it into my horse which screwed Michael’s horse sideways. My horse is an on-pace runner. I had to correct my horse, straighten it up. I lost ground. I was back further than I was supposed to be. Coming to the home turn, Michael Hellyer is about a half-length off me. He gets nearly level with me, then my horse kicks away and beats by a fair, decent margin.”

Apprentice Hellyer had no questions for Reith.

Pat Duff (trainer of Beautiful Memory): “At this stage, in a situation like this, I’ll leave it in your hands. We won’t hold up proceedings.”

Ron McCrae (trainer of Bonza Bronze): “I feel the same way.”

The objection was dismissed.

Bonza Bronze was pick-up ride for Christian Reith (replacing the ill Bobby El-Issa) and it allowed him to keep his momentum going after riding a back-to-back double at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

PRICE FLUTUATIONS:
Winner (Bonza Bronze): 4.40 out to 5.00 in to 4.40.
Favourite (Wonkavator): 2.70 out to 2.90. Finished second.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
On return to scale a protest was lodged by M. Hellyer, rider of the 3rd placegetter, Beautiful Memory, against Bonza Bronze, alleging interference at the start. After taking evidence from the parties concerned and viewing the patrol video, stewards found as the start was effected, Beautiful Memory lost ground when tightened for room by Bonza Bronze, which shifted out, and Questify, which shifted in. As Bonza Bronze could not be held solely responsible for the incident, and taking into account the 1,75 margin between the relevant horses at the finish, stewards dismissed the protest and correct weight was semaphored on the Judge's placings.
Approaching the 500m, Wonkavator (M. Speers) improved on to the heels of Stalwart Honey (E. Wilkinson) and had to be steadied. Beautiful Memory (M. Hellyer) was momentarily held up for clear running rounding the home turn.


Race 5:

Class 3 Handicap - 1200m
1st - Yuketan; 2nd - Gazillion; 3rd - Falling Star

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Trevor Miller: “The tongue-tie (on first time) definitely made a difference. Racing without it was definitely an issue last time. He choked down the other day. That’s why I backed him up. I normally wouldn’t have backed him up. I just wanted to prove that we’d solved the problem. He is quite comfortable over this distance (1200m). I think 1400m would also be no problem, you know. He travels good through a race. He’s pretty strong all the way through and he can do it at both ends.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Yuketan): 3.00 in to 2.50.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Mighty Canny (A. Merritt) shifted out at the start, making contact with Tunes Of Gold (D. Griffin). Mighty Canny then commenced to race ungenerously for a short distance. Gazillion (S. Drake) lost ground at the start when tightened for room between Bella Heart (O. Turpin), which shifted out, and Falling Star (C. Reith), which shifted in. Gazillion was momentarily held up for clear running near the 500m. Falling Star (C. Reith) was inclined to lay in under pressure over the concluding stages. Nasadispute (J. Piper) raced wide throughout.


Race 6:

Class 5 Handicap - 1400m
1st - Pertinence; 2nd - Wings Of Seraph; 3rd - Seraphino

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Troy Hall: “She’s got a great record here (six wins). She just loves Coloundra. She loves it here. She is a good mare who just keeps paying her way. Damian (Browne) handled her beautifully. He is a great jockey – a beautifully balanced rider. The run came at the right time. He had to push through to beat my old horse (Seraphino). It was terrific ride. She’s going to Brisbane over 1500m in a No-Metropolitan-Win race next time. Hopefully Brownie can make the weight on her. He’s only had the two rides on her for two wins. The 1500m trip will probably be as far as she goes. I’ve tried her at 1600m. She just can’t get it. Brownie knows how to nurse her. He’ll get her the 1500m.”

When Hall mentioned that his runner had to push through ‘to beat my old horse’, the runner he was referring to was Seraphino, who was one of nine horses that Hall previously had in training for high profile owner Nick Moraitis. All of those horses were recently removed from Hall’s care.

Trainer Troy Hall (explaining the change): “Basically, Nick (Moraitis) had a stable manager who looks after all of his horses up here in Queensland. The manager and I had a falling out and so the horses have moved on. That’s basically what happened. It was a shame, you know. We had a fantastic time training Nick’s horses. We won ten starts from thirty-five runners. We did have a very good strike-rate but, anyhow, hopefully one day Nick might come back to us. I certainly never fell out with Nick. The guy who was managing the horses in Queensland, we had a falling out – and that’s how it is, you know. We started with one horse from Nick and ended up with nine horses in the end. We built up a nice team and I think that is where the manager started to want to put too much of his input into it. I’m my own man and so that’s how it finished up. I’ve still got a handy sized stable and other horses that were due to come back in to work are doing so now. The downside is that Nicks horses were all fit and ready to run, whereas those coming in now are going to take some time to get ready, so, in that sense, it has slowed the stable down – but we’ll get there all right.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Pertinence): 2.70 out to 2.80 in to 2.30.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Star Touch (G. Baker) and Seraphino (K. Pope) jumped away awkwardly. Star Touch, which raced with its head in the air and over-raced for the majority of the event, shifted out near the 1100m and hampered Seraphino. Shortly after, Geebeetee (N. Thomas) was forced to steady and shifted out to avoid the heels of Star Touch. Geebeetee raced wide from the 700m. Approaching the 300m, Semi Wells (C. Reith) was hampered when tightened for room between Seraphino and Pertinence (D. Browne), which shifted out to obtain clear running. Seraphino raced wide for the majority of the event.
When questioned regarding the seemingly disappointing performance of Geeteebee, N. Thomas stated that, in his opinion, the gelding raced disappointingly, adding that Geeteebee travelled well until asked for an effort near the 700m, however failed to respond to his riding from that point. Trainer Mr B. McLachlan agreed that the performance was disappointing and advised that Geeteebee would be sent for a spell. A post-race veterinary examination of Geeteebee failed to reveal any significant abnormalities. A post-race veterinary examination of Star Touch failed to reveal any significant abnormalities.


Race 7:

Open Handicap -1000m
1st - Braebrook; 2nd - Clouds of Cognac; 3rd - Fire Hazard

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Tony Sears: “He has to be ridden like that (cold – from behind) otherwise he just doesn’t get to the line, you know. That’s the only way you can ride him. You would expect him to pick up the way he did today when Tony (Pattillo) asked him, because he is a pretty handy horse. He may have one more run here in a fortnight. Otherwise, I’ll give him a short break and I’m going to take him up for the Rocky Lightning.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Braebrook): 1.30 out to 1.50.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Clouds Of Cognac (M. Hellyer) began awkwardly, losing considerable ground. Near the 200m, the tiring Lackadosh (A. Badger) was tightened for room between Clouds Of Cognac and Fire Hazard (S. Apthorpe), which shifted in under pressure. S. Apthorpe, rider of Fire Hazard, was reprimanded and reminded of his obligations to be fully clear when shifting ground. Braebrook lost its off-fore plate in running. Court Adjourned lost its near-fore plate in running.


Race 8:

Class 1 Handicap - 1400m
1st - Godly; 2nd - Ana Me Cori; 3rd - Elton's Son

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Troy Pascoe: “I’ve only been training since around December. It’s my second win. I won a Maiden him at Texas (on December 13). Winning here is a little bit different from that. I am very happy with the way things are going and with the way he put it all together today.”

The result gave jockey Tony Pattillo a treble on the day.

Godly was the fourth successive favourite to win on the day.
The favourite won all four legs of the Quadrella.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Stewards accepted the explanation of trainer D. Peoples for the late notification of N. Thomas as the rider of Samsoon. As Michael Palmer was injured, J. Taylor was substituted as the rider of Vistula Belle. Emgee Em Grand (M. Hellyer) raced wide during the early stages. Near the 800m, Samsoon (N. Thomas) was forced to steady from the heels of Elton’s Son (L. Appo) when the pace steadied. Leaving the 600m, Bohica Baby (J. Piper) shifted out, making contact with Ana Me Cori (C. Reith). Near the 500m, Isti Polly (E. Wilkinson) had to be steadied to avoid the heels of Jedi Starfighter (A. Badger), which shifted in. Ana Me Cori was held up for clear running in the early stages of the straight. Jedi Starfighter (A. Badger) raced wide throughout.

STEWARDS RACE DAY SUMMARY EXTRACT:
Summary of action concerning thoroughbred horses:
Horses swabbed: All winners.