3 minute read
Trainer and jockey quotes after Nature Strip wins the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick on Saturday.
Race Result:
1st: Nature Strip (James McDonald/Chris Waller) - $3.10F
2nd: Masked Crusader (Kerrin McEvoy/Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes) - $7
3rd: Eduardo (Brenton Avdulla/Joseph Pride) - $3.60
Winning Time: 1:10.09 Last 600m: 34.71
Margins: 2L x ¾L
Winning Trainer: Chris Waller
On settling in the run: "He's a super horse and just showed another dimension today."
On not taking on Eduardo: "We knew you couldn't go head to head and expect to win the race. I think that brought us undone in the spring. We were getting taken on and coming off second best and left a sitting duck. Anything that wants to take him on gets beat as well. We're beyond that, we wanted to be a bit more mature this preparation."
"His run in the Lightning he settled off the speed and blew them away. Last start it was a pretty good effort, he had a wide draw and had to do quite a bit of work. But today it just worked out perfectly and full credit to James and my team."
On if he has been disappointing in the past: "He's pretty good all the time. Even when he does get beaten, there's been reasons for him getting beat. As I said, he gets taken on. No horse can sustain that type of pressure when you're talking about the best sprinters in the world. 1000m is a long way. 1200m for a sprinter is a long way and it's no different to people."
On if he heads to Brisbane: "I'm not sure."
On if he heads to another Everest: "I think he'll be at The Everest, he'll be at The Everest for sure. So it'll all be revolved around that. It's actually quite deep into the spring so there's the chance to take him to Queensland if we need to."
Winning Jockey: James McDonald
Thoughts on Nature Strip heading into Saturday's TJ Smith: "He is a special galloper on his day. I've been saying all week, he couldn't have worked any better on Tuesday. He has been faultless all preparation, the team has got him going amazingly well. When I got off of him on Tuesday, I was so excited to be riding him."
Thoughts on discussion about Nature Strip pre-race through media coverage: "He is executing so well. You get sick of all the talk during the week about how to upset him and this kind of garbage. They're not going to upset him anymore. He is pretty push button. I can safely say WBS (World's Best Sprinter) for him."
Pre-race tactics: "Go out and ride my own race. We can only worry about one horse and that's why throughout the week, all this talk of 'we're going to upset him' - it is just a load of rubbish. Just ride your horse and we'll worry about ours."
On Nature Strip perhaps being harshly judged for his defeats: "I don't think he switches off. He just gets beaten because he has a trigger in him, sometimes he just gets a bee in his bonnet. He is never beaten far, he is always thereabouts."
"When he is winning, he is everyone's favourite but when he is losing, they quickly bag him but he is not getting beaten far. He is a bloody good horse."
Potential for an overseas campaign: "It would be good. I wouldn't mind a little trip to Ascot."
Beaten Jockeys:
Hugh Bowman (Bivouac): "He was disappointing today."
Brenton Avdulla (Eduardo): "He got control a bit easier than I thought he would. Tried hard. He's obviously a top class sprinter but found a couple better."
Luke Currie (Zoutori): "Good effort. Went back from the draw. He rounded it off very well."
Kerrin McEvoy (Masked Crusader): "Ran really good. I had to duck and weave a little bit to get clear running. He finished off really well the last furlong."
Damian Lane (Dirty Work): "Better over shorter trips."
Damien Oliver (Order Of Command): "Had a nice run but they were a bit too good for him today."
Keagan Latham (Eleven Eleven): "Overjoyed with the run. Thought he ran a great race. That was the strongest race he has been in. He needed today's run but he's in for a big prep."
Tommy Berry (Libertini): "She just needs dry tracks. I thought that was dry enough for her today but it wasn't."