3 minute read
Race Result:
1st: Zaaki (A Neasham/J McDonald) - $1.60F
2nd: Huetor (Team Snowden/R Maloney) - $23
3rd: Zeyrek (Team Hawkes/T Clark) - $18
Winning Time: 1:49.46 Last 600m: 34.88
Margins: Half length x long neck
Winning Trainer: Annabel Neasham
Early thoughts on how the race was shaping: "It's not often you see James four wide without cover! To be fair the horse just wasn't away quickly enough, which sometimes happens. But James knows him so well and the horse really showed that fight. I got a bit worried at the 250 metre mark that they were going to come for him, but in the end he still had them well held. The two horses behind him ran terrifically, but fortunately he was still too good for them.
The ride by J-Mac: "He's the best jockey in Australia in my eyes and most people's eyes, partly because he's able to get himself out of difficult spots. Zaaki's been lucky in that he doesn't often get in trouble in his races, he had to do a bit of work but a nice tough run should have him in peak condition for the Doomben Cup in a fortnight.
Zaaki's impact: "He's been a pin-up horse for me. He's taken us to places we never thought possible, especially so early in my career. He was the first tried horse that I ever bought, and what he's done for the stable is just unbelievable. The owners are an amazing group, a lot of them are here today and we've had such fun with them on the journey."
Winning Jockey: James McDonald
In a tricky position: "I felt like bullets were being fired everywhere around me during the start of the race. Fortunately it worked out OK in the end, mainly because he's a superior racehorse. There wasn't any point in the race that I thought things were going to plan, but he got me out of trouble.
The track: "The big track definitely helped us today, and it helped that the barrier allowed me to do my own thing. If we'd been drawn inside it would've been much tougher to take up a spot. It helped when Just Folk put the handbrake on a furlong out, which enabled us to flow into the race. That was the key moment.