By David Nagel
Frankie Stockdale loves a horse with a good constitution and the on-course trainer at Pakenham has certainly found one in his four-year-old gelding The Cruiser.
Stockdale is certainly not afraid to put his horses to the test, with The Cruiser a perfect example of the Tynong locals’ expectations as a trainer.
The Cruiser – who took out the $35,000 BenchMark-64 Handicap (1200m) at Pakenham on Thursday night – was remarkably having his 11th start since December 19 last year.
And that includes a three-week freshen up, which took place ahead of his most recent run at Sale, just six days prior to his win.
The Cruiser was kept mainly to the sprint trips of 1000 and 1100 metres at his most recent preparation, but stepped out slightly to the 1200 for Thursday’s assignment and gave nothing else a chance.
The Cruiser broke a recent pattern of missing the start, jumping brilliantly from gate two and being taken to the front by jockey Arron Lynch.
The son of Charge Forward/Chatelaine led from go to whoa, kicking clear at the 200 and holding off the fast-finishing pair, Tipungwuti and Twiggy Pop, to win by a long neck on the line.
“He has been slow away in the past but he actually jumped well tonight, put himself up there, and travelled well until we straightened,” Lynch said.
“It felt like he gave a good kick and then held that until the line. He was tough at the end, he felt them coming at him and he dug deep.”
Lynch believes The Cruiser, who has now won four races from 20 starts and amassed $125,000 in prizemoney, can kick on purposefully during this campaign.
Lynch also gave an indication that we might have to look a little wider than Victoria to find The Cruiser for his next start.
“I think Frankie (Stockdale) is planning on going on a trip up to Queensland, so hopefully he can win everything up there with him as well,” Lynch said.
The Cruiser would be a popular member of the Stockdale stable, having won two of last five starts now at the lucrative odds of $31 and $19.
Stockdale wasn’t the only Pakenham trainer to have success on Thursday night with former champion jumps jockey Nick Harnett winning race four on the card with his exciting staying prospect Korobeiniki.
The three-year-old filly – Press Statement/Hidden Spirit – has been a tough horse to work out for Harnett and jockey Patrick Moloney, but put it all together to score an effortless win in the $35,000 Three-Year-Old Maiden Plate (1600m)
Korobeiniki, pushed out to the mile for the first time, was given a gun ride by Moloney, who bided his time just behind the leaders before making his move in the straight.
The pair barged through a tight gap at the 200-metre mark and sailed clear for a two-length victory.
Harnett was delighted with the ride, and the win, his fillies first win at her 10th career start.
“It was a beautiful ride, he’s worked the horse out, it’s taken a little while but she’s coming good now,” Harnett explained.
“She’s been wanting to over race, but now she’s up to the right distance, she’s bred to stay so we should be looking at even further now.
“We’ve got a good opinion of her; she can work with (stablemate) Morning Melody and stay with her so there’s not much between them.
“If we can get her out to a mile and a quarter, in a filly’s race, that would be ideal.”
Moloney has ridden the filly at seven of her 10 starts and says the progression of the filly has been very rewarding.
“She’s been a bit of a work in progress, with Nick and I, and we’ve tried a lot of things,” Moloney said post-race.
“She runs a good race, and we think we’ve got her where we want her, and then she runs a bad race.
“But she strung two good races together leading up to this, and we found the key is to ride her a little bit conservative.
“She drew an ally tonight and we were able to still ride her conservatively, but settle closer.
“She travelled really sweet throughout and I was just biding my time.
“Once the gap appeared and we bullied our way out she accelerated to the line nicely.”
Moloney believes Korobeiniki has the turn of foot to be a decent horse.
“She’s got a good little burst on her and then she flatlines a bit,” he said.
“She used her burst to push her way through that gap and then she flatlined.
“But up to the mile, her flatline tonight was probably as good as they go in maiden class.
“Hopefully she’s got a bit of confidence out of tonight and Nick and the connections can go on with it.”
Moloney, initially not convinced, now thinks the filly can step out over more ground.
“She’s capable of that, but she’s been a hard one to work out,” he said.
“I always thought she probably couldn’t stay, but we’ve gradually weaned her out in trip and she seems to be thriving of it.
“Nick said she’s bred to get further, so it’s good, first time out to the mile tonight, she got the job done, so natural progression means she will probably get out further.”
Jockey Jye McNeil was the only participant to score a double on the night, riding Miss Keeler to victory for Jim Conlan in race four, and then waiting until the last on the night to pilot Huguenot to a win for Cranbourne trainer Greg Eurell.
Racing returns to Pakenham this Thursday night, 28 April.
