A liking for the Flemington straight is a strong bow for any horse to have and It’sourtime’s continued favour for the ‘straight six’ as the six-year-old showed in winning the Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap (1200m).
For trainer Danny O’Brien, the effort held added merit with the gelding being in a less than ideal position in the run, and in a less than preferred part of the track.
“He was in a bit of a difficult spot being last at the 250-metre mark and then had to hook out wide on the track which is probably not the ‘A1’ spot to be but he really let down with a solid turn-of-foot,” O’Brien said.
Now with a third win at Flemington to add to five placings in eleven starts, O’Brien now sets the gelding’s sights on Sydney at group three level over the same distance.
“We’re looking at going there in a fortnight for the Show County Quality which is a similar race and give him a look up there to see how he handles (racing) righthanded.
“Obviously there’s a lot of options up there over the spring for sprinters.”
Though O’Brien wasn’t elaborating on higher aspirations, he is pleased with the horse’s progression.
“He’s won at open level, then listed and now at Group 3, we’re just happy to go through them.
“He’s a very consistent horse, tremendously honest and barely ever misses the top three.”
Jockey Michael Dee admitted that It’sourtime was further back in the run than he would have liked but the gelding’s consistency shone through.
“(Still) he was pretty soft on the line,” Dee said.
It’sourtime ($3.90 betr favourite) won by a long-neck margin over Umgawa ($31) with Chassis ($21) a further long-neck away in third.
