EAGLE FARM REVIEW (SAT, APR 11)

A review of the meeting held at Eagle Farm on Saturday, April 11.

Track - Dead 5 (Downgraded to Slow 6 at 11.45am). Rail - Out 1m the entire circumference.

Race 1:

Fillies & Mares Class 6 Plate -1400m
1st - Charvicky; 2nd - Montana Hilton; 3rd - Brief Me

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Rob Heathcote: “That’s the first win here at Eagle Farm and it’s become a little bit of a thing that it’s like a voodoo track for her, but she’d been so unlucky on so many occasions. But it’s a win where I give so much credit to a really top rider in Damian Browne. He’s in the best three in Queensland without a doubt. That’s his first ride on her and you know I couldn’t have picked her up and placed her where he put her on the way I asked him how to ride her. Just a lovely ride. She’s been here eighteen times and of those, she’s been unlucky in eight or ten of them. On her run the other day, her closing finish was really good. As I said to Damian before the race, the pattern or the tempo so often goes against her because she’s a get-back, run-on style of horse. You know credit to him here today with that track, she got back to second or third last, made her way through the field and hit the line good. I think the track is better than slow.”

Jockey Damian Browne: “I got a pretty good run throughout you know, she seemed to be handling the track pretty well. Rob Heathcote told me she had about 300m of run in her. When the runs come on the corner, she sprinted through very nicely and never really looked like getting beaten. She’s a pretty honest horse and tries very hard and today the race suited her.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Charvicky): 7.00 out to 8.00.
Favourite (Cool Edition): 2.00 out to 2.40. Finished seventh.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Cool Edition (L. Cassidy) and Fasliyev Dancer (T. Treichel) were slow to begin. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of Cool Edition jockey L. Cassidy stated that the mare was slow away and in his opinion failed to travel comfortably at any stage in the race. L. Cassidy added that he placed Cool Edition under pressure approaching the home turn however, it failed to respond to his riding and compounded over the concluding stages. A post race veterinary examination of Cool Edition failed to reveal any abnormality.


Race 2:

2YO Fillies Handicap - 1000m
1st - Funtantes; 2nd - Before The Storm; 3rd - Redibis

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Rob Heathcote (who saddled back-to-back winners, taking out the first two races on the card): “Mate, it’s nice when you kick off a day like that. We are part-owners in Charvicky and I bred Funtantes with Wayne Purchase. We bought the half-brother to Funtantes back at the recent sale for $105 000. Quite a few owners in Funtantes are going to race him in that QTIS 600 Series. Gee, I knew she was good, but oh mate, she’s smart. The thing I like about her is she goes to sleep in the stalls ... and even when you put the saddle on her she still doesn’t move, but you bring her out here in the parade ring and she gets up on her toes like a prize fighter. She’s about to rock and roll. And give the kid some credit – Brent Evens! Is he the most improved three kilo kid we’ve got? I just said to him, be aggressive. Those were the only instructions I gave him. He’s riding well. I’ll put her in all the features. I’ll nom her in the Sires and the Castlemaine. She is by Easy Rocking and her mum Cantantes, she only won twice. Injury curtailed her career. She won in town. Cantantes is a Just Awesome mare that can handle all ground. Yeah, just very, very happy.”

Apprentice jockey Brent Evans: “I was confident throughout. I didn’t think I would be quite that handy. I didn’t think I‘d actually get to the fence, but it turned out I did - I didn’t really want to, but I did. You know, I was just confident throughout the running that I would run the second horse down. It was a good win. It was my first ride on her. She’s a smart filly. It was pretty much as easy as it looked.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Funtantes): 2.50 in to 2.20.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Irish Dream (J. Taylor) was slow to begin. Impulsive Dream (L. Cassidy) and Princess Priscilla (E. Wilkinson) jumped away awkwardly. Brujita (P. Wolfgram) jumped out at the start making contact with Funtantes (App B. Evans). Brujita then shifted in placing Kiara Wonder (C. Reith), Dashing Irmy (S. Galloway) and Princess Priscilla all in restricted room. A short distance later Merry Moni (B. Stewart) shifted out resulting in Princess Priscilla having to be checked. Near the 800m Brujita had to be checked when tightened for room between Impulsive Dream, which shifted in slightly after receiving contact on its hind quarters and Kiara Wonder, which when over-racing shifted out despite the efforts of its rider. Irish Dream which was following had to be steadied to avoid the heels of Brujita. Leaving the 400m Irish Dream shifted out off the heels of Impulsive Dream and in doing so inconvenienced Brujita. Irish Dream lost its off-hind plate during the event.


Race 3:

J.J. Atkins 1MW-Last Year Handicap - 1600m
1st - Hume; 2nd - Sir Coup; 3rd - Yass River

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Brian Smith: “Of course I was worried when he was blocked for runs, but Scott (Galloway) ... you know people underestimate this bloke. You know he’s just a ... let’s just say I’m pleased he’s riding for me. Every gap was blocked wasn’t it? He’s showed acceleration in the wet, but he’ll be better on top of the ground. He is a racehorse.”

Jockey Scott Galloway: “I walked and sprinted home from the 400m. Before that I couldn’t get to the outside. I just propped him up behind in there and had nowhere to go, you know. I was pocketed in there and all of the horses in front of me were going nowhere. I just was on the inside and I thought, well, I’ve still got plenty of time. I was still very confident. On the corner I was going to ease and peel out, but that was going to put me was back too far. I was going to have to go back too far to come around, so I made a decision to go back to the inside to steal a bit of ground. There was still enough room there. It just took me a while to wind him back up again because I went from easing him back on the corner to getting him going again. It just took me a good time to move him into that big stride of his. I wasn’t worried about getting through. I could see the run in front of me. I could see the path before me. I had a couple of options at the two hundred as well, so it worked out well in the end. He handled the going alright. He got through it good. He surprised me because in his track-work he doesn’t seem to like it as much, you know. That’s not how he races. He just seems to bring it all to the races. He’s very genuine, a top liner.”

Giving further credence to Brian Smith’s assessment of Galloway’s riding ability is the fact that Scott Galloway left this meeting six winners behind Jockey Premiership leader Shane Scriven. Has Galloway thought about landing the title this season?

Jockey Scott Galloway: “No, I haven’t. I’m just happy to ride winners. If I could win a nice race over the Carnival, that would be good. That’s more important to me.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Hume): 2.20 out to 2.60.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Shortly after the start Currigee(J. Byrne) and Dawn’s Pride (D. Browne) had to be checked when tightened for room between Hume (S. Galloway) and Yass River (S. Scriven), which was taken out by Very Canny (A. Pattillo). Yass River and More Than Regal (L. Cassidy) raced wide throughout the event.


Race 4:

Japan Trophy - Listed (Quality) - 2106m
1st - Go Cart; 2nd - Winmara; 3rd - Drumshanbo

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Steven O’dea: “We were having a talk before the race, Ryan (Wiggins) and I. The rail was out 5m for that last meeting here and they were racing a little off the fence then too, so it was new ground in on the inside of the rail with the rail only being out a metre this time, so I thought that would probably be better. We made about four lengths on the rest of them coming around the corner by sticking to that inside line. He handled the step up in distance real well. In his last couple of starts, he’s probably been looking for a little bit further. There haven’t been a lot of races to suit him. I would have liked to have set him up for the 1800m, you know. He’s had to make a big jump up to the 2100 today (from 1500m), but he’s handle it well.
“We took the blinkers off today. Over the shorter distances he can get a bit keen in the race so we took the blinkers off just to get him to settle for the 2100m. We are going to freshen him up for the carnival, but we will have to sit at home and think about things. I think he’s got the class to compete at the Carnival. It wasn’t a bad effort today at 58kg and jumping up from 1500m to 2100m. Hopefully over the Carnival he might get some sort of weight relief and get into a nice race with a reasonable weight. We might just give him a few easy weeks, put him out in the paddock for a week or something - there isn’t a lot of time (before the Carnival). Probably give him an easy time for the rest of the month and then look at some races at the end of May, start of June.”

Jockey Ryan Wiggins: “Our horse gets going pretty good and we thought the fence was alright today and for a horse carrying a bit of weight we didn’t want to cover too much ground. We just stuck to our guns and stuck to the fence and it paid off. It’s his first one over 2100m and I was a little bit sceptical that he was knocking up a little bit, but he stuck it out strong. I’ve had four rides on him now for two seconds and two wins, and both wins were Listed races, so it’s good.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Go Cart): 5.50 out to 6.00 in to 5.00.
Favourite (Drumshanbo): 3.00 out to 3.50 in to 3.00. Finished third.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Near the 1500m Angelo Minny (J. Byrne) improved up onto the heels of Take The Plea (B. El-Issa) and shifted out taking Drumshanbo (App Michael Palmer) wide on the track for a short distance. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of Angelo Minny jockey J. Byrne stated that the horse had a tendency to over-race in the early stages and when the pace quickened near the 800m Angelo Minny was immediately under pressure and tired over the concluding stages. When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of Pay Me jockey A. Pattillo stated that the gelding secured a good run during the race however, when the pace quickened near the 800m Pay me failed to respond to his riding and tired to finish last. A. Pattillo added that in his opinion the performance of Pay Me was very disappointing.


Race 5:

3YO Fillies Handicap- 1200m
1st - Chakvetadze; 2nd - Ashlee's Jewel; 3rd - Multire Music

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Michael Nolan: “It’s great, you know. She’s just a good filly. She probably didn’t handle the going, but we were always going to run her because we were here. She is just a real class act. I mean she comes under pressure and then she just goes up a level ... goes up a level. I don’t really think she handled the going. Over the last 200m she was dipping and diving. I think on a good track she would have won by a lot further. She’s just quality and she just keeps winning, you know. That was a good test for her today against some better horses. But she gets away from them and she does it easy. You know, Brent (Evans) never punished her. Gets better and better this filly. We decided to let a couple go because we thought at some stage in the better races she is going to have to be ridden off the pace. We rode her off it today and she was still too good for it. The Silk Stocking is something that we’ve pick out. It’s Black Type. We’ll go to that and then we’ll just see where we are heading after that.”

Apprentice Jockey Brent Evans: “Always feel good to get two winners. She is a quality horse. It’s hard to win four out of four anywhere let alone in town. It has won in Toowoomba obviously, but it has won a few races in town here. She’s just a quality filly. She’s a horse that you can either ride for speed or you can take a sit on her ... that’s just the good horse that she is ... you can ride her from wherever she wants. She came from behind at Toowoomba and she won by a big margin. She’s that good.”

With this win apprentice jockey Brent Evans out-rode his claim at Provincial meetings. He therefore can no longer claim the 1.5kg that was previously available to him on the Provincial circuit.

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Chakvetadze): 2.00 out to 2.30.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Silent Le Touch (S. Galloway) was slow to begin. Hidden Cove (App Michael Palmer) and Gag Order (B. Stewart) bumped on jumping away. County Tale (D. Browne) and Rapid Tricia (J. Byrne) made contact on jumping away. When the pace steadied approaching the 800m Multire Music (J. Taylor) improved up onto the heels of Manners Please (B. El-Issa) and shifted out taking Plain Magic (S. Scriven) wider on the track. Plain Magic, Sharufa (L. Cassidy) and Hidden Cove all raced wide for the majority of the event.


Race 6:

Colts, Geldings & Entires Class 6 Plate - 1400m
1st - Frosty; 2nd - Margy Magic; 3rd - Jackpot

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Brain Wakefield: “I just got back from the Gold Coast, I just had two runners down there don’t even know where my family are. I was rushing to put on my tie. He’s an honest little horse, he’s as honest as the day is long. Brent’s riding very well. Young Luke (Rolls) would have been on him today only he went down to Sydney. He still hasn’t drawn an alley yet the horse.” (Frosty had the fourteen barrier here. In his previous four runs he had drawn fifteen, twelve, nine and eleven). “He had to do it tough today from the draw, but there wasn’t as much speed in the race today as there was last time. I didn’t expect him to lead, but he’s done the right thing. I was a little worried about the slow track, but he’s actually surprised me. He’s run some great races on slow tracks without luck. You know, the jury’s still out. I think he’s a better horse on top of the ground, but he does like a bit of the jar out of the track. I wish I had a few more like him in the place, that’s for sure.”

Apprentice jockey Brent Evens (who completed his second successive treble, after getting the same result at Ipswich on Thursday. This was his first city treble): “I hit the front early. I didn’t really want to find myself where I was. I didn’t want to find myself there. I didn’t want to dig it too much out the gates. I give it a dig out of the gates and I found that I was hard up against the bit and I was swinging. I just thought no use swinging on it, I am three deep, I may as well let it roll to the front. I let it roll and went I got there I nursed it, nursed it for as long as I could, till the end of the straight ... and then I went for him and he fought on.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Frosty): 5.00 out to 5.50.
Favourite (Margy Magic): 4.20 steady. Finished second.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Ferocious was declared a late scratching at 12 noon after a request from trainer G. Ryan due to the track downgrade. Sir Kingsford was declared a late scratching at 2.30 p.m. after a request from trainer L. Bryant due to the track downgrade. As S. Scriven was overweight stewards permitted A. Pattillo to be substituted as the rider of Five Ways. S. Scriven was fined the sum of $100.00. Three Swallows (Matthew Palmer) and Yuketan (App M. Hughes) were tightened for room on jumping away between Jackpot (D. Craven), which shifted out and Athenas Gift (App A. Taylor), which shifted in after jumping away awkwardly. Yuketan, Three Swallows, Punch Up (B. Stewart) and Athenas Gift all raced wide for the majority of the event. E. Wilkinson the rider of More On The Toe reported that the gelding failed to handle today's track conditions. Post race veterinary examinations of More On The Toe and Athenas Gift failed to reveal any abnormalities.


Race 7:

Bribie Quality Handicap - Listed (Quality) - 1200m
1st - Cocktail Supreme; 2nd - Rasmussen; 3rd - Eire Of Magic

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Pat Duff: “You know he’s been a horse that’s been very unlucky with barriers. There’s been so many times he’s drawn awkwardly, you know. Today with the alley ... he’s a horse that can make use of an alley and he had a jockey (Damian Browne) who knew how to make good use of an alley. He is a very underrated jockey. The horse won the Ascot Handicap before in the heavy, so he handles the going. There is another race here at Eagle Farm over 1200m next Saturday. I may well back him up into it next Saturday.”

Jockey Damian Browne (who completed a double on the day): “It was a good win. I rode him last time when he drew badly at Doomben over this sort of distance. He got back a long way and he got home well without much luck, so we thought we would be in with a big chance today from the one alley. The track was pretty uniform right across I think. He was happy travelling. He wanted to come out and get a little bit of room, so I just had to let him do that and he finished off well.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Cocktail Supreme): 4.60 out to 5.00 in to 3.90.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Ego’s Dare was declared a late scratching at 12 noon after a request from trainer G. Ryan due to the track downgrade. Stewards exceeded to a request from trainer R. Heathcote to have the slow track ban on Crosswise lifted. Felixtrinidad, which was fractious in the barrier stalls, was examined by the Club's veterinary surgeon and passed fit to start. Smart Maxie (S. Galloway) was slow to begin. C. Reith the rider of Watchyerback was reprimanded for allowing his mount to shift in near the 900m when insufficiently clear of Friendly Embrace (K. Yoshida), resulting in that horse having to be steadied. Near the 650m Rockdale (App O. Turpin) had to be checked when tightened for room by Felixtrinidad (J. Byrne), which was taken in momentarily by Luvuleo (C. Small) and Eire Of Magic (Matthew Palmer), which shifted out after improving up onto the heels of Crosswise (E. Wilkinson). A post race veterinary examination of Friendly Embrace failed to reveal any abnormalities. A post race veterinary examination of Felixtrinidad revealed the gelding to be suffering from a mild case of metabolic heat syndrome.


Race 8:

Colts, Geldings & Entires NMW Handicap - 1000m
1st - Steel Lips; 2nd - Nostrum; 3rd - Hail Free

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Steel Ryan: “He had the (wide) draw to deal. We rode him for luck today ... sat him back and had the last splash at him. His fitness was running out a bit, the last bit, but he scrambled home for us.”

Jockey Bobby El-Issa: “The trainer told me to ride it quiet. He found the line good. The going was bad but he just ploughed through it.”

Steel Lips was first-up after a five-and-a-half month spell.

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Steel Lips): 7.00 out to 8.00.
Favourite (Hail Free): 4.40 steady. Finished third.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Leondari On Ice was declared a late scratching at 12.45 p.m. after a request from trainer R. Rowley due to the track downgrade. True Flyer was also declared a late scratching at 1.05 pm. due to the track downgrade. Sydney Symphony (C. Small), Morcombe (App S. Bogenhuber) and Fiamore (R. Wiggins) raced wide throughout the event.

STEWARDS RACE DAY SUMMARY EXTRACT:
Summary of action concerning thoroughbred horses.
Horses swabbed pre-race:
Navillus Qualo, Wigndove, Watchyerback, Three Swallows, Smart Maxie, Brujita, Yass River, Beautiful Nicola, Before The Storm, Plenty Of Practise, Ram Jam Inn, Hopeson, Drumshambo, Go Cart, Silent Le Touch, Manners Please and Bugsytwoshoes.
Horses swabbed post-race:
All winners plus Montana Hilton, Before The Storm, Sir Coup, Winmara, Ashlee's Jewel, Margy Magic, Rasmussen and Nostrum.