By David Nagel
It was a fabulous Friday for Pakenham trainers last week with three of the big-guns of the local training ranks banking four winners across three Victorian venues.
Peter Moody claimed training honours with a winning double at Cranbourne, while Phillip Stokes and Charlotte Littlefield took care of business at Moonee Valley and Geelong respectively.
And Stokes made it a perfect handful of winners for Pakenham-based trainers when Mileva scored a dominant victory in the feature race at Flemington on Saturday – the $200,000 Listed Kensington Stakes (1000m).
But it was Littlefield who began the carnage when her four-year-old gelding Quarterback Zac ran her rivals ragged in a BenchMark 58 Handicap (1518m) at Geelong.
Jockey Jack Hill hunted the son of Zacinto/Tanqueray out from gate four, leading from the outset, before ramping things up from the 600 and giving nothing else a chance in the run to the winning post.
Hill said his tactics were pretty straight forward…but very effective!
“It was pretty straight forward, I’ve ridden him a few times before, you’ve just got to get him out of the gates and get his concentration levels up,” Hill said post-race.
“When he’s in front, bowling along, he seems to be happy but he’s got that high cruising speed that he can sustain.
“With the head wind in the straight it’s pretty hard to make ground so I was happy to get him off the bridle (at the 600m) before we straightened.
“Even though he was going pretty steady up the straight it was going to be pretty hard to make ground up on him.”
Hill, who rode the gelding to his maiden victory in July, said Quarterback Zac had the look and feel of a likely improver.
“He’s had a break (12-week spell) and he’s a bit stronger and a bit smarter now, he knows what the job’s all about,” Hill said.
“Charlotte and her team do a good job and I think when he gets to 2000 and dictates a race like that, he’s going to be an even better horse again.”
Littlefield wasn’t so confident as the horses turned for home.
“Not really, at the 300-mtere mark I thought he was going to get run down, but I galloped him myself on Tuesday and I know the horse has got a massive grinding stride, so I had a bit of faith and Jack knows him well, very relieved and very happy for all the owners,” Littlefield said.
The feast continued for Pakenham locals on Friday night when Moody delivered dual blows at Cranbourne.
His three-year-old filly Cherrypick started a pronounced $1.90 favourite in race two and didn’t let punters down, camping off a hot speed, before taking control in the straight to break her maiden status at her fourth career start.
Jockey Michael Dee sat third, with plenty of galloping room, before weaving a passage through the early leaders at the turn and grinding home for a soft victory.
Moody and punters then had their hearts in their mouth after Spirit Of Gold ($3.20) took until the shadows of the post to stake a claim in the BenchMark-58 Handicap over 1600-metres.
The five-year-old mare looked under extreme pressure in the straight, but stuck her nose out to win by a short-half-head on the line.
Stokes then continued Pakenham’s winning theme just 20 minutes later when Daqiansweet Junior ($3.20) got the bob to win the $60,000 BenchMark-70 Handicap (2040m) at Moonee Valley.
A rise in class was no problem for the son of Sweet Orange/Paulette, who scored a last start win over 1600-metres on his home track at Pakenham on 25 November.
Jockey Ben Allen sat back in the field before commencing a sweeping run at the 600-metre pole. Daqiansweet Junior then settled down for a two-horse war, getting his head down to defeat the $2.50 favourite, Laundy, by a pimple on the line.
Allen and Stokes then capped off a memorable two days for Pakenham trainers when Mileva strolled to victory at headquarters.
The Headwater/Lady Einstein mare was given a gun ride by Allen, who jumped from gate three but was one of the widest runners after just 300-metres of the race.
Stokes praised Allen after Mileva defeated Parsifal and Halvorsen to make it five wins from 11 career starts.
“Full credit to Ben, he gave her a lovely ride and summed it up beautifully and got her across to the middle and outside where we wanted to be…very good,” was Stokes’ blunt assessment of the ride.
Keeping Mileva fresh is the key, with Stokes’ also praising his team for the wonderful work they’ve done with the horse.
“She just loves that space between runs and she’s going well,” Stokes explained.
“She’s a mad fresh horse, she spends most of her time up at our farm and just ticks over up there, on the hill track and in the pool, we don’t even jump her out between runs, she doesn’t need it, she’s very clean winded, and I think we’ve got the key to her.
“I think we’ll keep her ticking over and maybe look to the group-one (Oakleigh Plate) at Caulfield, maybe a race like that and that can lead into a Robert Sangster maybe.”
Allen said things panned out almost to perfection.
“It worked out good, we stepped away well, there was nice speed, I was happy enough to come across and sit inside them, get some cover, and then I was able to get on the back of Sartorial Splendour and it couldn’t have panned out any better, she was too good,” he said.
“She relaxed well today and she’s a pretty cruisy horse…if you keep her happy she’ll give you her all.
“I can’t thank the Stokes camp enough, even Ciaron (Maher) and Dave (Eustace), they’re all giving me a good go, hopefully I can continue to build and get more rides at these city meetings.”
