The Mark Walker trained Azazel is on his way to the Victoria Derby after jockey Michael Dee helped carry the son of Shocking to a narrow victory in the Listed Geelong Classic.
In retrospect, the Azazel connections will have no gripes about the way the race unfolded … a win is a win … but it was run at an almost farcical pace with Azazel’s winning time of 2:21,04 for the 2200m trip being no less than nearly seven-and-a-half seconds outside the class record.
“Oh, they were going very steady. They just kept coming back and back,” acknowledged Michael Dee.
“My horse doesn’t have a great turn of foot, but he really keeps grinding away.
“We did want to ride a bit quieter today, but the way it panned out we just had to go and put ourself into the race.
“He was really grinding at the top of the straight, but I did feel he was doing it quite comfortably.
“he is still a little but green,” continued Dee “and he is probably a horse that is never going to win by a huge margin, but he has got a great will to win, and he has improved each time he steps out.
“He looked a picture in the yard, and he will definitely give a sight in the Derby,” concluded Dee.
Ben Gleeson, stable spokesman for the Mark Walker yard was understandably very happy with the outcome.
“Obviously, he toughed it out when they slackened the pace. A sit and sprint was never going to suit this horse, so we are thrilled to get this win,” said Gleeson, “particularly for OTI Racing and all of the owners. It is our first stakes winner for OTI.
“It’s very rare that you put a plan together early in the spring to get to the Derby and everything goes according to plan. It’s basically been exactly that. He’s got two wins from three starts now.
“He’ll love the 2500m (of the Victoria Derby). We bought him with this profile. If it’s truly run race we’ll be there in the finish.”
