BRISBANE Jan 29 AAP – Mighty midget Atlantis Gem again proved her toughness when she upset two big plunges at Eagle Farm on Wednesday.
Atlantis Gem ($10) gave rising apprentice Sam Payne his third metropolitan winner when she charged late to beat Dysfunction ($21) by a short head in the www.BRC.Com.Au Hcp (1300m).
Antarctic Dream who was backed from $10 into $6 was a short half-head back in third just in front of the heavily-backed favourite A Fine Drop Of Red ($3.10 into $1.90).
Winning trainer Lawrie Mayfield-Smith paid tribute to Atlantis Gem who is one of the smallest horses in work in Brisbane.
“If she was a couple of hands bigger she would be a very good horse. But they don’t come much tougher as she has been in work since March last year,” Mayfield-Smith said.
He said the impressive thing was Atlantis Gem had won her first start this campaign at the Rockhampton carnival and nearly a year later had now won her past two races.
“The only time she has been out of the stable was when she went to the water walker for a couple days,” he said.
Payne, who is apprenticed to Mayfield-Smith, is starting o make his mark in city racing and has been rewarded with two rides at Doomben on Saturday.
Payne’s mother Brigid Payne was the oldest in the famous Payne family of jockeys and she died in 2007 when Sam was 14.
“Atlantis Gem may not be big but she tries really hard,” Sam Payne said.
Fine Drop Of Red was one of the heaviest backed horses at a Brisbane midweek in several months but was not helped by being attacked in the lead early, according to jockey Ryan Wiggins.
Earlier, Beach Babe ($7.50) showed her liking for the addition of blinkers when she won the Drumbeats @ Lyndhurst Hcp (1000m) in the very fast time of 57 seconds.
Trainer Matt Dunn said Beach Babe had been struggling to win until he added blinkers to her race day gear.
“She has had two starts in them for two wins. She deserves a chance at Saturday class and there is a 1000m No Metropolitan win race which should suit her in a fortnight,” Dunn said.
