By David Nagel
The old saying goes that a change is as good as a holiday and a super-refreshed Like A Carousel proved that point precisely with a grinding victory in the $250,000 Sportsbet Pakenham Cup (2500m) on Saturday.
Trained by Ken Keys at Cranbourne, the eight-year-old gelding exhibited the benefits of a European-style preparation, gunning down Khartoum ($31) and race favourite Oncidium Ruler (4.20) in the shadows of the post to record just his fourth victory in 52 career starts – at outsiders odds of $41.
Keys suggested Like A Carousel, ridden by Linda Meech in the big race, was thoroughly enjoying his new training regime.
“We pretty much stuck to the script until recently, but decided to change his program and it’s really rejuvenated his attitude towards racing,” Keys said.
“He had a jumps preparation during winter and then spelled well and ran an outstanding race first up over 1800 metres at Sandown. The original plan was to run him a week later, but he was going that well we decided to put him straight out to the distance.”
Keys wasn’t overly confident heading in, and the outstanding racing surface at Pakenham diminished his hopes even more on game day.
“Look, he’s an old horse with some joint issues and we were pretty confident there would be some considerable give in the track,” Keys said.
“But, considering the rain we had, the track at Pakenham held up remarkably well. We would have preferred it a bit softer but we’re more than happy with the end result.”
Like A Carousel’s win continued a great winning streak for Keys in feature cups, with the Pakenham Cup now sitting proudly alongside silverware won at Bendigo, Cranbourne, Hobart and Sale.
“I just really enjoy setting a horse for a race and the stayers provide you with that opportunity,” Keys explained.
“We’ve got a few nice cups in the bank now and it’s a great thrill when the preparation pays off.”
Keys said he will now set Like A Carousel for two key races on the staying calendar.
“Initially he will do a fair bit of work on the water walker and then be set for the Bagot (over 2800 metres at Flemington) on New Year’s Day. And now his rating points are up and he’s back in a higher grade we might consider a tilt at the Adelaide Cup in early March. But, at the end of the day, he’ll end up back over the jumps.”
Keys praised Meech for her patient ride.
“She was very patient off a strong tempo,” he explained.
“We were probably a pair further back than we envisaged during the run, but he needs space and he got a lovely cart into the race from Grey Lion.”
The winning trainer said the south east suburbs of Melbourne were the right place to be, with both Pakenham and Cranbourne providing a plethora of racing action.
“Without doubt, they both complement each other and I’m sure there’s a healthy rivalry involved, pushing each other even further,” Keys said.
“There’s night racing at both tracks and Saturday was a fabulous day with huge crowds and that can only be good for racing.”
Regional trainers fared well in the day’s features, with Mornington trainer Matt Laurie claiming the David Bourke Memorial with Master Reset and Mick Kent preparing Amadeus to win the VOBIS Gold Bullion out of Cranbourne.
Numbers are still being tallied for the big day, but the Pakenham Racing Club has indicated that approximately 8,500 people were in attendance.
