Unbeaten Harry’s future looking bright ahead of Sunlight
By Craig Kerry
Jockey Ash Morgan was eyeing more rewards with Private Harry after guiding the unbeaten colt to his first city win on Saturday at Rosehill on the way to the new $3 million Magic Millions slot race, the Sunlight, next month on the Gold Coast.
Morgan, a two-time NSW premiership winner who rides mostly on the country and provincial circuits, has piloted Private Harry for Newcastle trainer Nathan Doyle in all three starts and his three most recent trials.
Ash Morgan riding Private Harry to victory at Rosehill on Saturday.Credit: Getty Images
“Obviously as a jockey, you get around, and you do the travelling and do all the bad meetings to try and find one like this,” the Newcastle-based Welshman said.
“And I was confident early doors, before he even ran, that we’d found one.
“It’s just good to see him paying us back and really doing the job.”
Private Harry backed up dominant wins at Newcastle and Hawkesbury with a tough effort in a benchmark 72 for three-year-olds (1200m) to open the program, hitting the front with 300m to go and holding off the challengers on a soft 7.
“I was more impressed with him today because he was so uncomfortable on the track,” Morgan said.
“He’s just improving, even though I know it’s going to be a strong race he’s going to be running in.”
Doyle quipped: “What’s wrong with the rain?”
“Nah, I don’t think he loved it. He travelled so well. He was the only horse you wanted to be on, and as soon as Ash let his head go, he just probably takes away from his turn of foot.
“I think he’s a good colt, but horses that are so fast and have that turn of foot, probably on a better deck they can show it more. But he’s got the job done today, that was the main thing today. We’ve got four weeks to the Gold Coast, so we can just sort of manage him into that and have a light trial in between.
“He’s getting out of the gates so well, too. He’s putting himself in a nice position, which is half the battle. You’ve got a horse with good race craft and for a colt, he’s so manageable.
“He’s not too bad with the girls, he’ll ask them out for a date before he acts on things, that’s a positive, and hopefully it stays that way.”
Doyle had a double when Midnight Opal led and kicked clear to win the last.
Parker makes right call
Kembla Grange trainer Kerry Parker was relieved he elected to run Justela on the rain-affected going at Rosehill after she made it back-to-back wins in the Midway Handicap – in contrasting conditions.
The six-year-old broke the 1400m track record at Kembla when winning on The Gong day two weeks ago, and she repeated the dose on a Heavy 8 on Saturday over 1500m, beating stablemate Mah Ali by half a length.
Justela jockey Jay Ford.Credit: Getty Images
“I was very concerned with Justela in the heavy, she hasn’t been at her best in the heavy,” Parker said.
“I pulled up in the carpark and made a couple of phone calls saying, if this gets real bad, I’m contemplating whether to go around or not.
“It was only the fact it was the second race. Usually, when she’s running on a heavy track it’s been late in the day and the track has been chopped up. But I was coming in today confident, and she was able to find some footing and get the job done.”
Jason Coyle was another trainer happy with his decision not to let Lulumon join the scratchings as the track deteriorated.
Lulumon won the seventh, a benchmark 78 handicap (1300m) for fillies and mares, wearing down favourite Drift Net in the closing stages.
“I think she’s actually better on top of the ground, but obviously she’s raced on winter tracks and handled them,” her Warwick Farm trainer said.
“The confidence dulled as the track rating went down, and you start thinking about taking her out and waiting a week, but I thought she was forward enough and fit enough to race on it.”
Tim Clark won on Lulumon as part of a treble on the day. He earlier pushed the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Shangri La Spring to victory in a 1500m benchmark 72, just ahead of Bright Red, which Nash Rawiller took down the outside fence to set up a thrilling finish. It completed a hat-trick of wins for Shangri La Spring.
Clark later took Waterhouse-Bott’s I’mintowin to back-to-back successes, in the 1400m benchmark 94.
Lees mare to start again
Newcastle trainer Kris Lees looks set to “start again” with Bestower after she made up more than a dozen lengths to produce the run of the day at Rosehill and finish a close second in the 1800m benchmark 72 handicap.
A $3.20 favourite with Sportsbet, the four-year-old stood in the gates as the field took off and looked no chance to catch the leaders, only to storm down the outside late on the Heavy 10 track and finish a half-length from Chris Waller-trained winner Lenape Vibe.
“She can be a bit tardy out but never like that. She just stood there today,” Lees stable representative Cameren Swan said.
“She’s a nice horse, but she’s just got to get her act together. I think he might give her a break now, and then we’ll just start again.”
Berry bounces back
Jockey Tommy Berry found some relief from the pain of a badly bruised face with a front-running victory on Keith Dryden-trained Sunchyme in the Highway Handicap.
Berry slipped at home during the week and feared he may have sustained facial fractures in the fall. Scans on Wednesday came back clear, but the soft tissue damage was plain to see on Saturday at Rosehill.
Sunchyme was a close second to stablemate Everido in the Highway at Kembla Grange two weeks ago, but she relished the heavy going on Saturday to win by 1.73 lengths.
“She wanted to race at the start today, she was able to get across from an awkward alley very comfortably and got a couple of cheap sectionals, and she slided away really nice down the straight,” Berry said.
“I really asked her to go from the top of the straight, because we got those couple of easy sectionals. I knew nothing is going to be making up a heap of ground on this sort of track.
“She’s very honest and last preparation she was running over shorter trips. She was very hot and wanted to do everything at 100 miles an hour. But this prep she’s just come in so much more relaxed. The team’s done a great job with her.”
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