‘Risky’ does it again!

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One of the best wins around the country on the weekend was Risk Aversion at Eagle Farm. I have been spruiking her for a while now and it was terrific to see her stand up in her toughest task to date and really put herself in contention for some group races over the carnival.

For those who missed the race, Risk Aversion jumped and went straight to the tail of the field. This was the plan as manager Neil Jenkinson, trainer Michael Lakey and the owners agreed that she is best ridden that way, especially from the awkward gate. No-one knows the horse better than that team and it proved to be a winning move with ‘Risky’ getting the runs on the inside of the track to burst through and grab Funtantes and Cariad on the line.

Even the seasoned trainer thought it was a task for her to win at the 200m mark. “It was pretty exciting. I wasn’t sure she’d get there at the 200m, but I have gone back over a few of her other wins to compare them and there were a couple of those that were similar and it’s only the last 30m or so where she chimes in.” Lakey said

There is no doubt she has improved a touch this preparation, but the tactics of riding her back and getting to the open spaces of Eagle Farm are a combination that makes her a horse to follow. The plan is to now head to the Glenlogan Park stakes 1350m at Doomben where she will again have to step up another level.

It is far too early to be worried about Stradbroke’s and such, but in my opinion if she was still well in herself and was able to make that race it would suit her down to the ground. She would get in on the minimum and a fast run 1400m around Eagle Farm would have to be mighty tempting for connections to look at with a mare whose value keeps increasing and a group 1 win or placing would also help that continue. Between Michael and Neil the right decision will be made and the horse will be placed perfectly, that’s for sure.

Another horse we touched on a few weeks back was Telesto Warrior and for those who followed the lead you have collected twice since then! He won a midweek race really well and then stepped up to Saturday grade and repeated the dose. It has been a great training performance and I sense Michael has a real soft spot for this horse as he was as happy to talk about it as he was Risk Aversion. He also said that the horse races best at Doomben and Ipswich so that is where he will try to place him to advantage. Saturday week at Ipswich in a benchmark 80 over 1660m is where we should see him next.

*It’s always a pleasure to catch up with Michael and you may have noticed I have started a ‘Trainers page’ up on the top toolbar. Michael Lakey racing is the first team there for you to be able to click on and check out his website. There will be a handful more coming onto that page in the next few weeks and it will be a great place for you to be able to get into that page and be able to click on the link to the best trainers in QLD websites to see what’s the latest with their stables.