Jockey Jay Ford has had to resort to a back-up plan but Fell Swoop has responded to win the Group Two Victory Stakes at Doomben as the short-priced favourite.
Fell Swoop ($1.55) took his earnings past $1 million with his first Group win but not without a fight when he got up in the final 50m to beat Didntcostalot ($8) by a long neck in Saturday’s Group Two 1200m-race.
Fell Swoop
Artlee ($9) ran home strongly for third.
Canberra trainer Matt Dale said there appeared to be a faster lane near the fence on Saturday and he had hoped Fell Swoop could sit up outside the leader which he expected would be Didntcostalot.
“I told Jay not to get into a speed battle if anything else wanted to go with Didntcostalot,” Dale said.
“When Pinch River went forward Jay was able to get a sit and but then had to come in the less preferred part of the track.
“I thought he did very well and dug deep to beat a horse who can run very fast time.
“My horse is still learning and he will take a lot of benefit from the run. It was his first time to Doomben and the experience will have done him the world of good.”
Dale said Fell Swoop would now press on to the Group One double of BTC Cup (1200m) on May 14 and then the Doomben 10,000 (1350m) on May 28.
He said a start in the $1.5 million Group One Stradbroke Handicap on June 11 would be decided after those races.
Ford backed up Dale’s opinion of the run and said he had not wanted to get into a fight for the lead.
“Fell Swoop is still learning to settle but he did hit the line hard and got there in the end,” Ford said.
The lightly raced Fell Swoop is a dual Group One placegetter, most recently when runner-up to Chautauqua in the TJ Smith Stakes.
Didntcostalot will also press on to the BTC Cup and jockey Tegan Harrison is looking forward to a rematch with Fell Swoop.
“I asked Jay when we crossed the line if I had been hard to beat and he said we were,” she said.
Michael Cahill, who rode Artlee, said he could hardly wait to get his mount to Eagle Farm where the Stradbroke Handicap will be run.
“He is a real Eagle Farm style horse,” Cahill said.
“He got home very well. There might be a fast lane out there today but it is a bit hard to find.”
