TWO out of three ain’t bad!
No, we’re not referring to Meat Loaf’s famous 1970s hit which has stood the test of time.
Rather Newcastle trainer Jason Deamer’s double delight with two winners from his three runners on Monday.
And the double was achieved on different tracks within a quarter of an hour of each other.
Deamer’s stable star Hard To Say ($4.60) made a brilliant return to racing under 60kg joint topweight at Warwick Farm in the Hundred Thousand (1000m), whilst recent addition Altercation ($4.40) 15 minutes later at Muswellbrook made it two wins from three starts since joining his stable.
Deamer’s third runner Awesome Tycoon ($7), also at Muswellbrook, ran well on resumption when sixth to fellow Newcastle trainer Paul Perry’s Edge Of Midnight ($8) in the Class 2 Handicap (1280m) after being the widest runner on the home turn and making nice ground at the end.
Hard To Say began his five-year-old season in style, defeating the other topweight and favorite I Am Unstoppable ($2.30) to post his eighth win at his 23rd start, and lift his earnings beyond $733,000.
Nash Rawiller gave the gelding a comfortable run off the speed, and his move on the home turn to go between The Novelist and Kote enabled him to establish a winning break after overhauling the two leaders Unflinching and No Statement, and then hold off the runner-up’s late challenge.
Prior to correct weight being declared, I Am Unstoppable’s rider Jason Collett viewed videos to determine the validity of a protest regarding an incident near the 200m.
Both he and RacingNSW stewards agreed there were no grounds to proceed to a protest hearing.
“Nash has ridden Hard To Say in his last two wins, and they are the only two times he has ridden him,” Deamer said en route home.
“He is booked for him in the Sydney Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday week.
“It’s run at weight-for-age, so Nash will be able to ride him at his 57.5kg.”
The Sydney Stakes, which carries a purse of $2m, is run on the same program as the $20m The Everest over the same distance.
Horses which are accepted for the Stakes may also be declared as one of up to six emergencies for The Everest.
Four-year-old American Pharoah mare Altercation joined Deamer’s team this year after having only one start for Ciaron Maher and David Eustace when fourth in a 1200m Maiden Plate on the Beaumont track on Boxing Day last year.
She then trialled twice for Maher in Sydney in May and June before being transferred to Newcastle.
Deamer won first-up with her at Tuncurry in August as an odds-on favorite in a Maiden Plate (1005m) on heavy ground before she finished fourth in a Class 1 Handicap (1000m) at Muswellbrook on September 9.
With Blake Spriggs aboard, Altercation again was a winner on Monday, defeating Willingale ($8) and Beyond My Ken ($3) in another 1000m Class 1 Handicap.
. Four provincial-trained horses have been entered for Friday’s $200,000 Port Macquarie Cup (2000m), which carries Big Dance eligibility.
They are Newcastle trainers Kris Lees (Prime Impact) and Steve Hodge (Kikikapow), Wyong’s Sara Ryan (Roma Avenue), and Kembla Grange’s Brett Lazzarini (Steel Blaze).
Prime Impact earned a free ticket into the Cup when he won the Prelude (1800m) at Port Macquarie on September 29.
HOOFNOTE: A former Newcastle gelding has gone into the history books by winning the Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) last Saturday; the last race run there before the curtain came down on racing after 181 years.
Smart Star, a $33 outsider, won the Cup after doing his earlier racing in New South Wales under the name of Lonely Power.
Initially trained by Kody Nestor, who won two races with the now six-year-old at Warren and Dubbo in July 2021, Smart Star then raced 10 times for Kris Lees at Newcastle for three placings before being sold online to Singapore interests for $15,000 in November 2022.
Story John Curtis, October 7, 2024
Comments