An outstanding weekend of racing for Esprit Racing that yet again showcased the remarkable talents of John, Sheila and the team.
Friday night at Sunshine Coast started with a bang when the lovely High Chaparral mare Kiriana won easily over 1600m at only her 2nd start. Ridden by Gary Geran, the granddaughter of Melbourne Cup champion Let’s Elope found herself in a new position when hitting the lead at the top of the straight, and despite seeming lost she held her rivals at bay comfortably.
Bronzegate was not able to sprint home as a short price favourite under his big weight behind an in form rival, yet battled on strongly for a good 2nd and will surely win his next race shortly.
At Doomben the evergreen pair I Feel Good and Irish Constabulary performed admirably. Goody was the outsider over the 1600m first up (up to $150-1 was around), but with plenty of pace on jockey Larry Cassidy was able to be patient and the 10yo sprinted quickly through the gaps to win convincingly. A wonderful effort; he has now won 4 of his last 9 starts and showing no signs of stopping.
Don’t forget that is the 2nd 10yo John and Sheila have taken to town to win in a fortnight. Just unbelievable that these horses can be running with such energy and bringing home good money for their great owners.
As for Irish Constabulary, after his extraordinary win 3 weeks ago, he came up against a top liner in Houtzen who smashed the track record by 0.7 seconds. Irish has probably equalled that old record and was the only horse making ground from behind, on a track that was much harder than is ideal for him. A run that showed he is still at his best, and there seems to be more to come for Irish!
No rest for the wicked though; the team was back to work this morning, Military Striker was able to run 2nd in a metro maiden at Sunshine Coast this afternoon, and it’s not over for 2018……we look forward to the next fortnight to close the year with a bang!
