Extra trip ideal for Ocean Park’s son
A step up in distance to 2000 metres was all Roller Coaster required at Coffs Harbour on Friday afternoon to post a deserved victory.
The Paul Shailer-trained son of Ocean Park had been a minor placegetter in his previous two appearances and those efforts saw the Waikato Stud graduate start a warm favourite.
“He has kept improving with each run and this time got to a suitable trip after hitting the line strongly when second at Newcastle,” stable representative Hamish Chapman said.
Roller Coaster, who also benefitted from a 6kg drop in weight, improved from the back near the turn and produced a stout finishing run in the straight for rider Andrew Mallyon to record the fourth win of his career.
He was bought out of Riversley Park’s New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale draft by Hughes Bloodstock for $80,000 and is out of the late Pins mare Curvy, whose three foals to race have all been successful.
Curvy was from the family of the Australasian and European Group 1 winner and successful sire Starcraft, a star graduate of Waikato Stud.
Ardrossan’s Group 1-placed darling wins A$300,000 Gr.2 HKJC World Pool Wakeful Stakes
Second and fourth in 1600m Group 1 races in her two previous starts since being purchased privately by OTI Racing and stepping out in Australia under Chris Waller’s racing banner, De Armas (Ardrossan) stepped up in distance at Flemington on Saturday and opened her Australian account in style in the A$300,000 Gr.2 HKJC World Pool Wakeful Stakes (2000m) on Derby Day.
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The Corner with Garry Chittick
The writing of my Corner started many years ago, motivated by an irritation that I felt needed scratching. It was never my intention to make my commentary regular; neither did I intend to reinvent the direction of racing administration. It is both disappointing and ironical that what should be a simple, straightforward business provides a regular need for comment.
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