DOOM NOV 07 - SEESAWING OUTGUNS SHOWCITI

By Graham Potter | Monday, November 9, 2009

Doomben, November 7, 2009.
Track - Good 3. Rail - out 4m.
Class 6 Handicap (4yo and Up) - 1640m. Time: 1-38.53.
1 Seesawing; 2 Showciti; 3 Tarrayoukyan.

The Kelly Schweida trained Seesawing had to settle for second place in her first two starts of this prep, but she made no mistake this time when coming home strongly to take the measure of Showciti inside the final 100m to land the fourth success of her career.

Jockey Jim Byrne had Seesawing back in the second half of the field for much of the trip. She still had six runners in front of her on straightening when positioned hard on the heels of Showciti.

The fact that Showciti immediately picked up the tempo at the top of the straight and helped carry Seesawing into the race was a bonus, but the aid became the enemy with 100m left to run as Seesawing and Showciti settled down to fight out the finish.

This time Seesawing was not going to be denied. The four-year-old mare had built winning momentum when chasing Showciti forward and she edged clear of her rival over the concluding stages to win by a short-neck.

That’s four wins now for Seesawing (with three minor placing) from nineteen starts.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Kelly Schweida: “All her runs this prep have been really good. We thought we’d win today, but that thing flushed us out a little bit early. We wanted to wait and come with a quick run, but I see they got home in 33.87, you know, that’s the leader to winner, so she’s probably around the low 33 mark.

“Jimmy (Byrne) knows her well. You don’t have to give him any instructions. He knew what to do.”

Jockey Jim Byrne: “Look, early on I thought there wasn’t much pace in the race and that’s pretty much how it panned out.

“She’s a quality horse, you know. Always through the Winter Carnival she’d been hitting wet tracks ... and even in the Derby I thought she’d be a good each way sort of chance ... a real rough chance, and lo and behold we kept getting soft tracks all through the carnival.

“She’s a nice horse and she does everything right in the race. She can run some nice sectionals. One come around us at the three and was going to flush me out, but I decided to just wait on her and let her sprint home like the last 300m more or less ... and that plan basically worked to our advantage.

“I wouldn’t be concerned with 2000m with her ... 1800m is definitely not a problem. She’s very, very relaxed in the race. She doesn’t do much. She basically switches off, so that’s a big asset when you start getting up over those middle distances.”

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Seesawing): 2.90 out to 3.20.
The winner was the favourite.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Kinsmate (B. Pengelly) jumped away awkwardly. Warrior Within (P. Hammersley) improved onto the heels of Kinsmate (B. Pengelly) approaching the first turn and had to be steadied. Tarrayoukyan (L. Cassidy) was caught three wide rounding the first turn before assuming a position outside the leader near the 1000m.

Near the 300m, Costa Mucho (J. Holder) was inclined to lay in on to the heels of Seesawing (J. Byrne). Our Scooby Doo (A. Pattillo) was inclined to lay in over the concluding stages of the race. Near the finish line, Lezant (S. Bogenhuber) had to be steadied when cramped for room between Embank (J. Bowditch) and Tarrayoukyan (L. Cassidy).

Jockey J. Taylor, rider of Jennabee, was reprimanded for using his whip on one occasion in excess of the permitted 5 prior to the 100m.