ONE! TWO! THREE! AGAIN!
On the very first day of the 2012 breeding season – Queensland’s leading farm, Glenlogan Park, again flexed their muscles in the Sunshine State with yet another Saturday city winning treble delivered by their sires – just two weeks after achieving an identical feat at Doomben.
Show A Heart, Falvelon and Jet Spur all reaffirmed their positions as being amongst the most desirable stallions available this season, as their offspring continue to find the winning post first with monotonous regularity.
Show A Heart, as he has done so often over the years, started the ball rolling for the Glenlogan sires when the very gutsy stayer Racing Heart took his earnings soaring well above the $420,000 mark for trainer Rob Heathcote and his connections.
Having now won, or placed, in all of his last five starts, Racing Heart has a long-term goal to be peaking in January where he will be out for revenge in the Magic Millions Stayer Cup (1800m) – a race he finished 3rd in earlier this year.
Racing Heart led from the outset in the $50,000 2100m event to strongly defy a challenge from runner-up Topping as they entered the straight. Heathcote praised talented apprentice Kirk Matheson for the clever front-running ride. “I told Kirk not to let another horse come around him and dictate to us and he got it spot on,” Heathcote said not long after the race. “He allowed Chris Munce on Topping to eyeball him in the straight but this horse is rock-hard fit and loves a stoush.
“When he gets in this frame of mind he is very, very hard to run past and I was always confident he had their measure during the running. He has been a terrific horse for the owners and brought them all plenty of joy.”
Heathcote is weighing up his options as to whether to start Racing Heart in a 2000m open company race at Doomben in three weeks or head south for the Wyong Cup before he spells to prepare for a summer campaign.
“It is a nice problem to have,” Rob added. “He gives us plenty of options but it is hard to leave here when he is in such great winning form and he can keep knocking these races off.”
Very popular Gold Coast trainer Bryan Guy then provided the middle leg of the Glenlogan Park winning treble when his progressive 3YO Falvelon gelding Platinum State kept coming in the rich QTIS 1400m race to show he will relish a step up to the longer distances in the future.
“We knew he would be really competitive today,” Bryan said. “Last start (1300m) he was planted 3 and 4 wide without cover for the entire journey but still stuck on to only be beaten just a tad over 3 lengths.
“Chris (Munce) got off that day and said how brave an effort it was and if we found a mile race for him next time then he would just be winning.
“However there were no 1600m races available but, once we drew a good alley we knew he was going to be giving it an almighty shake.”
Platinum State took his earnings close to the $100,000 mark from just the 8 starts with his driving victory and Bryan is confident there is plenty more to come.
“He won his very first start and we were sure we had a horse with really good ability that would give us all a lot to cheer about,” Bryan added. “But he has been plagued by bad luck and wet tracks so we haven’t got to realize that potential yet.
“However, as he matures and we get access to some middle distance races and good track conditions, I am sure he can really go on with the job.”
PLATINUM STATE – Falvelon 3YO on the way up!
Photo Courtesy – Trackside Photography.
Jet Spur’s highly talented mare, Flying Jet, showed she is right on track for her best campaign yet when she delivered a barnstorming victory in the final event of the day from Eagle Farm for her trainer Kelly Schweida and jockey Larry Cassidy.
Resuming from a 5 month spell, and 1st up since a luckless and close-up 5th in the Listed Princess Stakes in April, the Jet Spur mare stalked her main rival Solebid in the running before peeling to the outside and then letting down with a withering burst of speed to really put the issue beyond doubt and deliver one of the most eye-catching performances of the entire day.
“We were very happy with her coming into this run and she looks like she is ready to really put it all together now,” Kelly said after the race. “She has always had the ability to be a top class mare, but has had more than her fair share of bad luck and bad barriers along the way.”
Flying Jet drifted well back in the early stages before really grabbing the bit and then moving strongly into contention as they were about to enter the straight.
“I had plenty of horse underneath me and she felt a million dollars when she let down and sprinted,” jockey Larry Cassidy said. “I always felt in control of the race and just needed the breaks to go my way and I knew she would run over the top of them.
“The first two horses absolutely streeted the rest of them and I would say the form will really hold up for this pair. Flying Jet is pretty smart I can tell you and she will also take good improvement from the run.”
Schweida, who will just take things one step at a time with her at this stage, is convinced the Jet Spur mare will be a force to be reckoned with in the future..
“She has already won almost $150,000 and been stakes placed,” Kelly said. “But I think she can continue to develop and, if she keeps progressing the way I expect, then I am sure she is capable of taking out a really nice race one day.”
