The Ciaron Maher-trained Tennessee Bound has kept her winning record intact with a brave victory at Caulfield.
Tennessee Bound extended her winning streak to six with her win in the Sportsbet Caulfield Cup Carnival Hospitality Handicap (1100m) on Saturday, but it came after early drama.
The daughter of Written Tycoon stumbled as the gates opened and took a few strides for apprentice Jabez Johnstone to get her in a rhythm.
“It wasn’t smooth sailing, that’s for sure,” Johnstone said.
“She stepped awkward and had a bit of a trip but recovered well.
“I was under pressure coming into the straight and for that reason she did lay-out marginally, but for a horse to win six in a row, it’s a pretty fair effort.”
Sent out the $1.45 favourite, Tennessee Bound held off a determined Behaviour ($11) by a short head with Luna Cat ($5.50) a further two lengths away third.
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Maher said he intends to continue the softly-softly approach with Tennessee Bound, saying he was likely to look for another ratings-based race in the weeks ahead.
Saturday’s victory was at Benchmark 84 level.
“We’ve been patient with her,” Maher said.
“She had a three-month break before this preparation, and I think that really helped her.
“I thought she stripped pretty well today, and I think the claim for Jabez definitely helped and getting close to the line, it got a bit interesting, but all she can do is win, so we can’t be too hard on her.
“We’ll see how she comes up, she’s progressive and keeps winning and it certainly gets tougher every time she steps out.
“However, she handles the track, so we’ll raise the bar again, but we won’t get too carried away and look for ratings races.
“She’ll probably jump up four or five points, so we’ll continue to use Jabez’s claim.”
