3 minute read
Trainer and jockey quotes after Star Patrol claims the Group 2 Bobbie Lewis Quality at Flemington on Saturday.
Race Result:
1st: Star Patrol (C McDonald/B Melham) - $4.20
2nd: King Of Sparta (Team Snowden/B Shinn) - $6
3rd: Benedetta (J Warren/D Stackhouse) - $2.60 fav
Winning Time: 1:09.19 Last 600m: N/A
Margins: Short Head x Short Head
Star Patrol will NOT be denied in the Bobbie Lewis @cmcdonaldracing @BMelham pic.twitter.com/2IY1lWCLQ8
— Racing.com (@Racing) September 16, 2023
Winning Trainer: Clinton McDonald
Getting tired late: "It was a bloody long straight, I know that, they were burning along up front weren't they? Those sorts of horses dropped off, he was left there for a fair while out so for a first up run it was a great effort, he'll come on from that, that's his go, up here, so that race will give him a lot of confidence, he'll know that it's not hurting him and I think he'll be a happy horse."
Champions Sprint?: "Not necessarily, we've got to be realistic with him, we'll go to the Gilgai next and then reassess him after that, obviously it's on the radar but we're quite keen to get him up to 1400 metres as well."
Future plans: "We've got the The Bluff Knoll over in Albany, which is a slot race, the great Reddie Gardener's got a slot and then we've also got The Quokka that we're looking at."
Winning Jockey: Ben Melham
Finding right lane: "I was (able to), the last bit, he was first up, it was the decision to ride him, he's a horse that's got to build momentum and gradually builds from the gates but all of his wins we've sort of got going early and staved them off but perhaps we went a little bit too early today being first up and he'd certainly had enough on the line but it's good to see him come back in the form he'd showed earlier, he's a quality galloper and I think Clinton's really on top of him now and he'd been working well and we thought he'd run well today."
Strong gallop: "That's part of the reason we sort of ride him like that, he just seems to be going a lot better when you let him build when he wants to build as opposed to, he's quite big and rowdy and boisterous so he pulls you around a lot and you've just got to go with him."
Good win: "First up, he's going to bloody sleep well tonight and he'll probably need some time between runs but we got the job done today."
