IT’S been a relatively quiet past week in terms of Moruya runners taking to the track, particularly with Monday’s meeting at Goulburn, where we had six runners on the program, being abandoned due to the deluges which arrived across the region on the weekend.
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Only two Moruya gallopers made the trip to Canberra last Friday, and pleasingly one came home as our only winner of the week, that being Matt Wood’s Brockman. The five-year-old gelding headed to the capital with a brilliant last-start win at Goulburn on August 5 to his credit, where he fought out the finish of the Benchmark 65 mile with Matt Stephens’ Intimate Kingdom.
At Canberra he was facing the same grade and over the same distance, on this occasion with Winona Costin in the saddle.
Winona rode Brockman with great patience, getting him to settle in fourth off the fence some five lengths behind the two tearaway leaders, eye to eye at a fast pace.
The leaders started to fade about the corner and Winona was ready to pounce, taking the lead into the straight and maintaining it, unchallenged, to the post for a two-length victory, and a rare running double.
He’ll be looking to make the hat-trick at his next start and I can’t wait to see it.
Brockman’s record now stands at five wins, four seconds and two thirds from his 21 starts - a good record by anyone’s standard, and he’s lightly raced. Congratulations to Matt Wood on the achievement.
Our other runner at Canberra was Chris Hensler’s Liam Da Torio who ran in the Class One (2000m) distance event with young Tara-Jane Mitchell aboard.
He finished behind the placegetters but I thought his run was better than it looked on paper, as he was confronted with a wall of five horses in front of him up the straight with no way through.
He maintained a strong mid-field position to the line, running out the distance well.
We had two runners at Saturday’s meeting at provincial Kembla Grange, being Colbey Hill’s Magic Franco and Mark Latta’s Olympian with both unfortunately finishing well back in their respective events in tough provincial fields.
Also on Saturday John Marzol took a team of three to the Narrandera meeting where his main hope was Daryl who was running the feature Narrandera Cup (1400m).
Unfortunately something went amiss in the run and he was eased out of the race to tail in the field.
John’s other pair, There Is No Drama and Elemental, both finished well back in their respective events making the trip back home a long one.
I was excited by the prospects of our runners at Monday’s Goulburn meeting before it was abandoned, particularly Matt Stephens’ Intimate Kingdom after seeing what Brockman did at Canberra on Friday.
Lynda Bundy’s Cos Can’t Wait and Fields Of Freedom, Steve Stephens’ Sweet Suitor and John Marzol’s Code Word and Bel Esandy were our other runners on the day and they will all be reviewing the suitable alternatives ahead.
For Intimate Kingdom that might be tomorrow’s provincial meeting at Kembla Grange where he, and Joe Ible’s Lambeau, are nominated for the Benchmark 65 mile, and Joe’s Vision and Verse is nominated for the Maiden (1400m) Plate, after her recent eye-catching third on debut at Goulburn two weeks ago.
The other meeting under focus this weekend is Sunday’s Nowra meeting where John Marzol, Greg Backhouse, Colbey Hill, Mark MacDonald, Chicka Pearson and Wade Mathie have nominations across the seven-event card.
Check your guides for our acceptors for both of those meetings, and pencil in Sunday, August 31 as the first meeting of the new season on our home track at the Moruya Jockey Club, being the TAB Registered Clubs Day.
John Peiti has Summer Duck Wood (race five) and Brown Bob (race seven) running at Wagga today as does Peter Afflick with Peekay and Wade Mathie with Who Gives A Hoot (both in race eight).
Until next week, good luck and good punting.