Her antics in the unsaddling enclosure, when Apache Chase crossed the line to win the Fred Best, captured every emotion of a winner overcome with the joy of a special success. (With the win Apache Chase gained a golden ticket into the Stradbroke).
Trainer Desleigh Forster went down on her knees, got up, punched the air, did a jig which broke into a victory dance, and then bearhugged anyone within range in a display which brought a smile to the faces of everybody witnessing her reaction which really epitomised what being involved in racing is all about.
People like to talk about the money aspect, but these are spontaneous moments of pure pleasure that money can’t buy, and it is a feeling that transcends any material value.
The normal question asked a couple of days after a win is, ‘so how did Apache Chase pull up?’
I wondered how Desleigh Forster had pulled up.
“I was good. I was out of bed at 2.30am on Sunday morning. I don’t drink much because it gives me too big of a headache. You don’t want that when there is always work waiting to be done,” said Forster.
And Apache Chase?
“Yeah, He pulled up great. Everything is good,” said Forster.
“We were very confident going into the Fred Best. He’s been working good at home and doing everything well, so we were confident. That’s nothing against the favourite, the previously undefeated Ayrton, who I think is going to be a nice horse … but we were just going to do our thing.
“Somebody said to me earlier in the week … how are you going to go chasing? I said … no, I won’t be chasing. They will be chasing me.
‘Going to the Stradbroke now, he is only a three-year-old and he has got light weight, he loves Eagle Farm and he makes his own luck … so it should be really good.
“He never lies down. They are going to have to get past him to beat him. Jimmy knows him well. He knows how fast he can go, so everything is looking up for the Stradbroke.
“I’m very happy with him. Hopefully on Saturday week we can have the same story.
Coming from nowhere, Apache Chase now sits on the fourth line of betting for the Stradbroke Handicap at $13.
