Seymour post mortem

One account of the past few days and the roller-coaster ride….

As for our champion little filly, well we certainly have experienced it all in a short space of time with her. I just didn’t really know what happened live, was in a state of shock straight after but desperate to see shes ok and I never want to repeat the feeling as Dave was checking her for injury. It was horrible.

Thankfully all seems ok, and poor driver is killing himself because it was his error (he copped 3 weeks – Stewards report highlighted it) but I think we all saw just how well she was travelling at that time. I would dare say she was going to give AML a hell of a fright! I now finally feel convinced sheis as good as the best of them and hopefully the wide open spaces of Menangle will mean little crowding and tight racing (Bathurst) and no self inflicted hooves in carts caper (Albion Park)……swing her to the outside fence Thorny and let her go, away from all other horses!

Anyway, so much happier to have a sound horse and no prizemoney than the winners cheque and no horse. we are having a ball travelling around following her seeing different tracks and had a ripper of a night at AP then the Brekkie Creek then Victory hotel and I can tell you one street corner at about 5am in Brisbane was a who’s who of QLD harness racing! I am definitely getting too old for this…….except next year we plan to go to most of the Oaks races…….because boy, it is fun!

Seymour Stewards Report

The stewards report is below:

After the 700m, ZENYATTA raced tight to the inside of VERTIGAL (D Thorn). Shortly after this, VERTIGAL was restrained and shifted in to try to find a position behind AUSSIE MADE LOMBO (L McCarthy). Whilst doing this, VERTIGAL made contact with the off side wheel of AUSSIE MADE LOMBO resulting in its near foreleg becoming momentarily entangled in the sulky of AUSSIE MADE LOMBO, blundering and being severely checked. ZENYATTA, MISS NAMBA, SPERIAMO, FOREVER GOLD and LATEFORLUNCH (N Rasmussen) were all severely checked as a result. At a subsequent inquiry Driver D Thorn was found guilty of a charge of careless driving in that he was endeavouring to shift in behind AUSSIE MADE LOMBO which brought about this incident. Mr Thorn’s licence to drive in races was suspended for a period to commence immediately and to expire on Sunday, 13 June 2010, on which day he may resume driving.

http://www.harness.org.au/stewards-reports-detail.cfm?mc=AP220510

Vertigal in SMH

The first troops have shipped out of Sydney en route to Queensland and saw the following in today’s Sydney Morning Herald (in ‘The Form’ section).

Basically it notes the ‘Barry Gomersall Memorial Draw where interstate horses comprise the back row with the top three fancies given the three outside of the back row draws.

The advance troops from the Orange Army are already in Brisbane today with the second tranche of troops winging their way north of the border tomorrow

Seymour Final comments

What the papers will print regarding the Seymour final

4–6:35 KAY SEYMOUR NURSERY PACE SERIES 20 FINAL (G1) 2yo fillies RBD MOBILE 2138m
1 – 415 Forever Gold K M Rasmussen Fr
2 – 333 Miss Namba D G Weeks Fr
3 – S14 Zenyatta C A McDowell Fr
4 – 743 Lateforlunch N C Rasmussen Fr
5 – 62 Courageous Annie NZ D W Graham Fr
6 – 265 Speriamo G W Dixon Fr
7 – 416 Conada (1st Em) M P Neilson Fr
8 – 814 Tilly Leon G W McElhinney Fr
9 – 131 Sheezallattitude J C Brown Fr
10 – 121 Aussie Made Lombo L A McCarthy Fr
11 – 122 Vertigal D J Thorn Fr

AAP Selections – Race 4: Sheezallattitude, Aussie Made Lombo, Vertigal, Miss Namba

Race four – Kay Seymour Nursery Pace Final (Grp1) 2138m
2.50 Sheezallattitude
2.80 Aussie Made Lombo
8.00 Forever Gold, Vertigal
21.00 Courageous Annie
26.00 Speriamo
31.00 Zenyatta, Miss Namba
34.00 Conada, Lateforlunch
41.00 Tilly Leon

FOREVER GOLD (V Rasmussen) 2f Famous Forever-Making Gold $7,078 7s-2w-2p: Scored handily over Final Champion 2.7m $3.20 (Sr2) Albion Pk 2138m (2:01.6) 2YO race May 11 then beaten 24.5m 5th $6.10 (Fr3) Sheezallattitude Albion Pk 2138m (1:59.9) 2YOF race May 17. Treat warily.

MISS NAMBA (V Rasmussen) 2f Cammibest USA-Namba Girl $1,875 4s-0w-3p: Sound effort when 4.2m 3rd $3.30 (Fr2) Forever Gold Albion Pk 2138m (2:01.9) 2YO race May 11 then checked when beaten 6.5m 3rd $24 (Sr2) Aussie Made Lombo Albion Pk 2138m (2:02.5) 2YOF race May 17. Not worst here.

ZENYATTA (D A McDowell) 2f Bettors Delight USA-Palace Star $4,368 4s-1w-0p: Handy win $36 (Fr3) defeating Our Mach Leigh 2.2m Penrith 1720m (2:04.6) 2YO race May 6 then beaten 6.5m 4th $30 (Sr1) Aussie Made Lombo Albion Pk 2138m (2:02.4) 2YOF race May 17. Have to improve.

LATEFORLUNCH (W F Dixon) 2f P B Bullville USA-Minden Miss $7,869 7s-1w-3p: Eased early when 20m 4th $12 (Sr1) Forever Gold Albion Pk 2138m (2:03.1) 2YO race May 11 then beaten 4.5m 3rd $48 (Sr1) Sheezallattitude Albion Pk 2138m (1:58.4) 2YOF race May 17. Don’t dismiss.

COURAGEOUS ANNIE (D W Graham) 2f Courage Under Fire N-Cyclone Lady (nz) $1,992 2s-0w-1p: Broke after the start when 15.2m 6th $9.70 (Fr3) Place Your Bet NZ Albion Pk 2138m (2:02.1) 2YO race Apr 27 then eased early when 2.2m 2nd $36 (Fr5) Sheezallattitude Albion Pk 2138m (1:58.2) 2YOF race May 17. One of the chances.

SPERIAMO (W F Dixon) 2f As Promised USA-My Golden Phoenix NZ $1,244 4s-0w-2p: Finished 12.7m 6th $13 (Fr2) Sushi Sushi Albion Pk 1660m (1:58.9) 2YO race May 8 then beaten 12.5m 5th $24 (Fr4) Aussie Made Lombo Albion Pk 2138m (2:02.9) 2YOF race May 17. Not out of it.

CONADA (M P Neilson) 2f Blissfull Hall USA-And More $4,790 5s-1w-0p: Very impressive winner $1.20 (Sr3) over Bertils Bliss 26m Gold Coast 1609m (2:00.8) 2YO race May 13 then ran 12.7m 6th $28 (Fr5) Aussie Made Lombo Albion Pk 2138m (2:02.9) 2YOF race May 17. Not out of it.

TILLY LEON (F G O’sullivan) 2f Modern Art USA-Pretty Inpink $7,363 7s-2w-1p: Handy win $1.50 (Fr5) over Dontkidyourself 4.5m Canberra 1730m (2:05.5) 2YO race May 10 then beaten 24.5m 4th $48 (Fr2) Sheezallattitude Albion Pk 2138m (1:59.9) 2YOF race May 17. Not out of it.

SHEEZALLATTITUDE (F L Gallagher) 2f Art Major USA-African Dancer $85,002 11s-7w-2p: Raced wide early when 2.7m 3rd $3.30 (Fr6) Leilani Lombo Albion Pk 1660m the 2YOF Australian Pacing Gold 2YOF (grp1) Apr 24 then caught the eye defeating Courageous Annie NZ 2.2m $1.30 (Fr1) Albion Pk 2138m (1:58.1) 2YOF race May 17. Conditions favour.

AUSSIE MADE LOMBO (Jane Davies) 2f Bettors Delight USA-Tailamade Lombo $136,476 11s-4w-7p: Raced wide late when 2m 2nd $8.50 (Sr3) Leilani Lombo Albion Pk 1660m the 2YOF Australian Pacing Gold 2YOF (grp1) Apr 24 then battled on gamely defeating Vertigal 0.7m $1.30 (Fr1) Albion Pk 2138m (2:02.0) 2YOF race May 17. Big chance.

VERTIGAL (David Thorn) 2f Western Terror USA-Height Of Wisdom $62,905 7s-2w-4p: Inconvenienced when 0.4m 2nd $7.90 (Sr2) Aussie Made Lombo Bathurst 1730m (2:00.2) 2YOF race Mar 27 then fought on very well to place 0.7m 2nd $3.90 (Fr2) Aussie Made Lombo Albion Pk 2138m (2:02.0) 2YOF race May 17. Has to be respected.

Seymour Form Analysis

This preview appeared on the http://www.harness.org.au website.

Albion Park Form Analysis by Craig Rail

RACE 4:

The outstanding New South Wales trained filly SHEEZALLATTITUDE (9) was clearly the best run out of the two heats mid-week as she set up a hectic tempo and held off the challenge of COURAGEOUS ANNIE (5). Most of her victories have come when she has been able to lead but she is still the one to beat. The Bathurst Gold Tiara winner AUSSIE MADE LOMBO (10) has been placed in all of her eleven starts to date and led throughout to win her heat mid-week. She just held off the fast finishing VERTIGAL (11) in a mile rate that was four seconds slower (over 50m!) than that recorded by SHEEZALLATTITUDE (9) but she seemingly had something in reserve so she looks to be the second best chance of winning. VERTIGAL (11) was runner up in the Bathurst Gold Tiara prior to her fast finishing effort behind AUSSIE MADE LOMBO (10) mid-week. She will be suited if there is a genuine tempo being set throughout and she rates as an each way chance. FOREVER GOLD (1) worked hard when fifth in the fastest heat mid-week and is a minor place hope from the pole position. Other place hopes include COURAGEOUS ANNIE (5) and TILLY LEON (8).

SELECTIONS: SHEEZALLATTITUDE (9), AUSSIE MADE LOMBO (10), VERTIGAL (11), FOREVER GOLD (1)

SUGGESTED BET: SHEEZALLATTITUDE (9) to win

EXOTIC BET: Flexi First Four 9/ 9,10,11/ 1,5,8,9,10,11/ 1,4,5,8,9,10,11 (Cost $20, which gives 26.66%)

Seymour Final Fields & Form

Unfortunately the barrier draw is confirmed and official with the three interstate fancies (including Vertigal) drawing the outside of the second line. We copped the worst of it with barrier 11, Aussie Made Lombo is in 10 and Sheezallattitude is in barrier 9. To round out the backrow the fellow interstate raider Tilly Leon is drawn the inside of the second line. Of the seven horses off the front six are locals with Zenyatta the exception.

They don’t call it the visitors draw for nothing!

Field: www.harness.org.au/fields.cfm?mc=AP220510#4

Form: www.harness.org.au/form.cfm?mc=AP220510&rc=APM22051010

KAY SEYMOUR NURSERY PACE SERIES 20 FINAL (G1)

6:35 PM

Track: Circumference – 1019m, Straight – 197m, Front line – 7, Sprint lane in operation

Track Record: 1:55.0 Dinki Di 13/08/2005, Western Cam 03/04/2010

Pacers. 2YO Fillies. Refer to http://www.harnessthepower.com.au for race conditions. For horses that qualified in heats conducted at Albion Park on 17/05/10. NDC. NMC. RBD.

Prizemoney: $150,000 – 1st $94,470, 2nd $28,200, 3rd $14,100, 4th $4,230, 5th $1,500, 6th $1,500, 7th $1,500, 8th $1,500, 9th $1,500, 10th $1,500

Seymour barrier angst, I mean draw

Well that could not have been much worse – Milly has copped the visitors draw on the outside of the second line. Two group ones for two back line draws. Our main opposition has also drawn the backline.

The Brisbane relay service had the field for the Kay Seymour fillies final as

1. Forever Gold
2. Miss Namba
3. Zenyatta
4. Lateforlunch
5. Courageous Annie
6. Spearimo
7. Conada (Emergency)
8. Tilly Leon
9. Shezallattitude
10. Aussie Made Lombo
11. Vertigal

More soon…

Halfway there – final reached

Mission accomplished in making the final. And even though she did not win her heat the way she hit the finish line has Team Vertigal as happy as can be for not winning a race.

She should derive some benefit from her first race start since Bathurst around four weeks ago. The fact she got a nice run one out and one back and ripped off one quick quarter was almost the perfect pre-race plan in preparation for Saturday night’s final.

One may argue Aussie Made Lombo was entitled to win by more given the run she had in front and I think both her driver and the race caller were both surprised by how quickly Milly started to peel ground back in the run to the finish line.

The official margin was a neck with a further 5.5m to third place. After a lead time of 40.7 seconds the quarters for the last mile were 32.7, 31.1, 29.3, 28.2 for a mile rate of 2:02:0. By our estimation Milly has zipped home her last quarter around 27.6 or thereabouts

Milly’s race result is at http://www.harness.org.au/meeting-results.cfm?mc=AP170510&ms=qld&fromstate=qld#APC17051009

Fingers crossed for the barrier draw and clear running in the final on Saturday night

Albion Park Racebook – Seymour Heats

Kudos to the resident tipster at Albion Park – Adam Daff. Tipped the first four in our race straight out (after an upheld protest between 3rd and 4th) and we hope his words regarding being better suited in the final are prophetic,

“Aussie Made Lombo is a classy filly and has the barrier draw advantage over her only rival in this field, should lead all the way.Vertigal is a nice sit-sprint filly who is clear second pick and will be better suited in the final. Place chances to Conada, Zenyatta and Miss Namba”

Tips: Aussie Made Lombo, Vertigal, Miss Namba, Zenyatta

Vertigal home away from home

Vertigal is staying the week with good friends of the Thorn’s in Debbie Prowse.

Deb lives trackside at Albion Park with stables so Milly can access the track without crossing a road or even getting on the float.

At high noon we watched the first race at Albion Park from Deb’s front room – heard the thunder of hooves and watched them enter and exit the final turn from a new vantage point to watch the action unfold.

Deb also trained the 2008 winner of the Kay Seymour Series for 2yo fillies in Catwalk Beauty and we’re hoping we can also add the 2010 photo.

Attached is a photo of Milly in her stables the morning before her heat.