Read what the jockeys made of their mounts after the Group 1 $1,000,000 Australasian Oaks (1600m) at Morphettville.
Benagil (Mark Zahra): “He’s a great trainer, Glen. He’s had times on his own before and training by himself now. He needs the support, but he’s just done a great job with his filly. She looked fantastic. She’s gone from sort of Melbourne then over to Sydney, then back here. So it’s a long prep, and you’ve got to be a good trainer to be able to peak every time, and he’s done that.
“She looked great today, and she flogged them, really.”
“Always very happy. I was just smoking the pipe, looking at what was going on. I was very happy with the tempo, and I think if you could have been on any horse at the 600 (metres) was me. I was just jogging. In these staying races, I don’t like to disappoint them for too long. You’ve got to let them go when they’re ready to go. I waited until we got them a straight, let her rip, and she had them a long way out and did a good job.”
“I didn’t know that he’d come from (barrier) one out to there. I had no idea, actually, but I was just focused on myself and it was a good win.”
“Well, it’s all about the horse, isn’t it? Like, there’s no point pushing on if she doesn’t pull up well. So if she pulled up well and he thinks she’s still flying, then you go there. If she doesn’t, she’s done a pretty good job this prep. She’s been to Sydney and here, so I don’t know what the odds are going again. But he’s a good trainer, like I say, and he’ll make the right decision.”
Blake Shinn (Too Darn Lizzie): “Beaten at the turn, doesn’t run 2000 (metres).”
Ben Melham (Movin Out): “Ran well, had to give a big start away from the draw to receive protection from the wind. From the 700 (metres) we found the back of the eventual winner, crept into the race doing no work, probably just the back up within a week but she’s a nice mare moving forward.”
Celine Gaudray (Cinch): “There’s a soundness issue going on there, she’s pulled up lame, so I hope the team can get her back.”
Rochelle Milnes (Phenom): “Probably just struggled to get that 2000 (metres) today.”
Thomas Stockdale (Femminile): “She jumped well, we had her closer today. Ideally I would’ve liked to have been a pair closer on the back of some better runners but we had to pinch runs where we could. She ran home strong but she’ll appreciate the extra 500 (metres) when she gets it.”
Harry Coffey (Cavity Bay): “Super run, we just got held up and crowded around the home bend and it probably cost her running second but I thought she went super and she ran really well.”
Lachlan Neindorf (Comanche Miss): “Got into a lovely spot from the barrier, relaxed, travelled beautifully underneath me, probably struggled to see out the 2000, needs another prep to develop.”
Jamie Melham (Polymnia): “Very good run. If she drew a gate it would’ve been interesting, she just had a lot of horses stopping in front of her and had to wait and wait for a run, only got out late. If she drew a barrier it would’ve been very interesting.”
Blaike McDougall (All Kinds Of Folk): “Not her day today. She travelled into it like, I thought, the winner, but once I placed her under pressure she just didn’t find so hopefully she pulls up okay.”
Ben Price (Beautiful Jewel): “It was an honest run. She had a lovely run in transit, just when the pressure came on she probably didn’t see out the 2000 (metres), she’ll be a lovely miler next time around.”
Jamie Mott (Wolfess): “She gave me a real glimpse of hope there straightening up when she hit the front. Bit immature, blinkers will help her.”
Jacob Opperman (Pelevecchio): “She ran well. It was just a matter of finding the gaps at the top of the straight which she did. It was a game effort.”
Todd Pannell (Horizons): “Just had to go back from the wide gate and she had too big a task.”
Ethan Brown (Sweltering): “Outstanding. She was suited by a good speed, she hit a bit of a flat spot around the corner, I just had to guide her through that but when she straightened she stayed on really well and good to get a Group One placing.”
Daniel Stackhouse (Giorgi): “Just outclassed.”
