Ortensia continues outstanding form
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Ortensia (Craig Williams) sprints to victory in the Glenlogan Park Stakes (Noel Pascoe photo)
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Ortensia dominated the Listed Glenlogan Park Stakes 1350m to win by three lengths at Doomben on Saturday, May 16.
The Tony Noonan-trained filly jumped from barrier 16 and was raced back in the field, with the $3.10 race favourite, the Gai Waterhouse-trained Belong to Many getting the best start and leading the field at breakneck speed.
However, approaching the turn, jockey Craig Williams asked Ortensia to let down and she delivered with a boom on the outside, charging to the line to win by three lengths in a time of 1.18-35, just two tenths outside the record set in 1995.
Belong to Many (Jim Byrne) came in second, while Russeting (Ron Goltz) was a short neck back in third.
Craig Williams was ecstatic with the victory, throwing his goggles to the crowd and cheering loudly.
“When she let down and chased down a horse like Belong to Many it was awesome,” Williams said. “She’s definitely a great chaser.”
“I’ve always liked this filly and I’m lucky enough to be associated with her and I love coming up and riding her in work.
“She may be the queen of the turf coming into Winter Carnival. I’m liking the way she’s going.”
Although there was some speculation that Ortensia (F3 Testa Ross-Aerate’s Pick) would struggle with racing 1400m, Tony Noonan had confidence in his charge.
“There was some concern that she doesn’t run a 1400m,” Noonan said. “She’ll run a 1400m without a problem in the world.”
“She’s a very good filly and she got back on the right ground and was able to accelerate today.”
He also stood by his decision to ride her cold. “It never worried me,” he said. “I just said to everyone today that I though we’d get better odds.”
Noonan will now target the Stradbroke for his charge.
“We’ll probably have to run in a sprint in a fortnight again to guarantee us a run in the Stradbroke,” he said.
“I think Craig will ride her (in the Stradbroke). We discussed it a long while ago so he’s pretty aware of that.”
The Glenlogan Park Stakes win adds $96,000 to Ortensia’s career earnings of $393,517. The talented filly has never been out of the money, with a 6-2-1 record from nine starts.
QUEENSLAND Racing web news: Phoebe Grealy – May 16 |
