SCST JULY 03 - FIFTEEN CARAT UNDERLINES HIS VALUE

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Sunshine Coast, Saturday July 3, 2010.
Sunshine Coast Guineas (3yo's - Listed) - 1600m.
Track - Dead 5. Rail - True.
Time: 1-37.59. (carrying 56kg).
1 Fifteen Carat; 2 Startling Pleasure; 3 Carrara.

Trainer Howard Wilson has never held back his opinion of the chestnut gelding Fifteen Carat.

Even before the moment when Fifteen Carat first out-dazzled his opposition (in his sixth start) when arriving with a late rattle to beat Fantastic Blue over 1400m at Eagle Farm on November 21, 2009, Wilson had built a belief in the racehorse.

Speaking to HRO after Fifteen Carat's win that day, where he came from second last racing some ten to eleven horses wide the straight, Wilson said: "It was a great run. He is a very smart horse. In fact, Stathi Katsidis told me he’s probably one of the best young horses he has ridden ... not today ... he told me that before he won. He thinks he’s a good horse. Before he won Stahi said he is probably the best maidener going around in Australia."

Wilson added a bit of background information. "We paid $25,000 for him. We put him through the Ready to Run sale and we were offered eighty for him, but we kept him. It was a good decision.”

On Saturday at Coloundra, where a loyal Katsidis again combined with the three-year-old to take out the Listed, Sunshine Coast Guineas Plate, that decision was looking even better as Fifteen Carat's third career success (in fourteen starts) pushed his stake earnings up to $192 400.

Fifteen Carat has never finished second, but he has had his number go up in the frame as the third place-getter on no less than five occasions. Two of those results came in recent feature events in the Gold Coast Guineas (when beaten a long-neck by Beethog) and in the Queensland Guineas (when going down by three lengths to Rothesay). So he was due to strike.

That fact was recognised in the betting where Fifteen Carat started as second favourite at $4.80.

The main fancy was Carrara ($3.60). The Group 1 placed colt (Carrara had finished third behind Starspangledbanner in the Caulfield Guineas) had an impressive enough resume to back his claims having raced in top company, but the fact remained that he had not recorded a win since September 25, 2009 and he had actually been beaten home by a touch more than two lengths by Fifteen Carat in their last clash when both runners finished behind Rothesay in the Queensland Guineas.

Carrara's task here wasn't made any easier by a very wide barrier draw while Fifteen Carat jumped from a favourable number two draw.

Jockey Danny Nikolic chose to go forward on Carrara at the start and the son of Elvstroem crossed comfortably enough to settle in third spot behind Silver Spur, who had chased out from and even wider draw than Carrara, and Dual Chamber, who had likewise done some early work to get into second place. Carrara then went back to fourth place when Startling Pleasure, who could not get in from a wide draw was also propelled forward by jockey Jason Holder.

By way of contrast, jockey Stahi Katsidis gave Fifteen Carat an easy role in the early part as he allowed the gelding to lope along on the rail, racing in tenth place just worst than midfield.

Silver Spur continued to set the target until the turn. On straightening the leader was immediately put under pressure by Startling Pleasure, who was racing to the immediate outside of Silver Spur. Dual Chamber was back along the inside. Carrara had tracked up onto the heels of Silver Spur and Startling Pleasure. Horoscopes was next best, perfectly poised to strike.

At this stage Fifteen Carats was still back in tenth place, but he was now four wide as Katsidis continued to try to switch his mount to the outside in search of clear running.

The rider had began that process in the sweep to the turn and there was still plenty of work to do in that regard on straightening as Fifteen Carat's path was momentarily blocked by a horse to his outside (Sophrosyne) and a line of runners in front of him.

Katsidis chose not to force the issue.

He eliminated any further bad luck from the equation by electing to ease Fifteen Carat out of the dead-end and to then switch out around the heels of Sophrosyne.

Fifteen Carats lost ground effecting the switch. That left him, with only 300m left race, back in eleventh spot some six lengths behind Silver Spur, who was still battling away at the head of affairs.

Katsidis had placed an enormous amount of trust in Fifteen Carat's ability with his quiet ride early in the piece and his patient positioning of his mount in the home straight and Fifteen Carat was about repay the confidence shown in him. Now in clear air and able to run his own race, Fifteen Carat began his assault on rivals.

By the 200m mark Startling Pleasure and Horoscopes were still pestering the ever-game Silver Spur (with Dual Chamber and Carrara also still right in contention), but they had still not headed the long-time frontrunner and Fifteen Carat was closing in from behind.

He was now in ninth place and still some five lengths off the action, but the momentum was building.

By the 100m mark, just as Startling Pleasure's long sustained run at last took her into the lead, Fifteen Carat was exploding onto the scene.

He passed the 100m in fourth place some two-and-a-half lengths behind Startling Pleasure and ran right over the top of all opposition in the concluding stages to score a finely judged victory. The winning margin was 0.75 lengths.

The filly Startling Pleasure was superb in defeat. The Peter Strong trained runner put in the hard yards at both ends and never flinched under pressure. She showed true commitment to the cause the whole length of the home straight and she did everything but win.

Carrara found something extra late, after only whacking away for much of the straight, to rally to claim third placing ahead of Brave The Way who hit the line strongly after coming from the tail of the field.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Howard Wilson: "He is a very good horse ... very, very good.

"I said to Stathi (Katsidis), don't get caught on the fence. He said, I won't ... but he was there for a while.

"I'll consider taking him to Sydney now. I don't know for which race yet, but I'll take him to Sydney. I think he is that good. I was even thinking of taking him to Melbourne, but I think that is off the agenda."

Jockey Stathi Katsidis: "He still doesn't really know what he is doing, but he is pretty smart.

"You can see once he got to the outside he goes, oh ... ok, I'll just have a little gander here ... then after that I forced him to get going ad he really accelerated.

"I was back on the fence on the turn and I got up inside Damien Oliver (on Sophrosyne) but I wasn't going to get out anywhere, so I had to come back and work to the outside. I was out by the 300m mark so he had plenty of time to unwind. Had it been Doomben, or somewhere like that, he probably would have got beaten.

"It is definitely noticeable that the crown (of the track) is better. The first winner (on the day) came up the fence and I sort of come up the fence on one after that and it is definitely slower in there. You sort of want to be out on the crown.

"I got stuck inside Damien Oliver and I've had to wait and then go. That was my only anxious moment. That was it. Once I got out I thought he would win from there because he sprints so quick.

"He's very good. He could be ... right now, as he stands on his ability right now, I'd probably rate him a Group 3, a Group 2 horse. With improvement, he might even go to the next level ... and I think he will improve.

"Hopefully he will improve and get to know what he is doing a little bit more in the future. I don't know whether he will spell shortly or what, but he still has no idea what he is doing. He's got raw ability and is very good.

"I think he might get further. He will just need the right prep. They tried to get him to run over 2000m before (in the Chairmans three runs back in a race won by Crossthestart), but he didn't have the right preparation.

"He was there until the 150m in the Chairmans (when stepping up from 1200m to 2020m), so, yeah, I think he will stay. further next time in."

PRICE FLUCTUATIONS:
Winner (Fifteen Carat): 4.80 steady.
Favourite (Carrara): 3.50 out to 3.60. Finished third.

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Prior to correct weight, D. Nikolic, the rider of 3rd placegetter Carrara, exercised his right to view the stewards' footage to ascertain whether he had grounds against Startling Pleasure (J. Holder) being
declared 2nd. After viewing the film, D. Nikolic did not wish to proceed.

Approaching the 1200m Lucky Songs (D. Browne) had to be steadied when tightened for room between Sophrosyne (D. Oliver) and Glorietta (J. Bowditch), which was taken out by Symposium (J. Taylor). A short distance later Glorietta had to be steadied when Symposium shifted out off the heels of Anchor Bolt (L. Cassidy), which was over-racing.

Near the 700m Glorietta was momentarily tightened for room by Bella Sirena (E. Wilkinson), which shifted in before being corrected by its rider.

Sophrosyne and Anchor Bolt over-raced in the early and middle stages. Horoscopes (C. Munce), Anchor Bolt, Sophrosyne and Bella Sirena raced wide throughout. Brave The Way (G. Colless) was momentarily held up for clear running rounding the home turn.

Horoscopes shifted its ground over the concluding stages when tiring and near the 100m shifted in and hampered Carrara (D. Nikolic).

D. Ganderton reported that Silver Spur raced fiercely in the early and middle stages and refused to settle.

J. Byrne, the rider of Dual Chamber, reported that it was his intention to position the filly off the speed, however when it began well from a difficult barrier he felt it was in the horse's best interests to push
forward and take up a forward position.

A post-race veterinary examination of Spot On Target (M. Walker) revealed no significant findings.

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