De Little Engine revs up for stellar Andrew Ramsden Stakes win
DE Little Engine defied a betting drift and a big weight to romp home in the Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes at Flemington on Saturday.
The Danny O’Brien-trained gelding was short in the market throughout the day, but punters got low on confidence and let it drift out to $3.20 with Ladbrokes.com.au.
Perhaps it was the big weight of 58.5kg – a weight which hadn’t previously been carried to victory in this race, but the little boy with the big heart was far too classy for its rivals over the Melbourne Cup distance.
Jockey Daniel Moor positioned the last start winner three back on the fence and it barely spent a penny in the run. Moor was cramped for room for a split second, but he provided a patient ride and it soon found the gap and sprinted clear.
The effortless win continued its successful run of form after winning at Flemington by over four lengths last start.
“He had his fair share of weight, but he’s got a bit of class on them,” Moor said. “What he lacks in real class he makes up in heart.
“He ran to the line beautifully. We came out at the top of the straight, I counted to five and away we went.”
Trainer Danny O’Brien enjoyed the relatively soft win and it was obvious the 3200m posed no problems on this occasion, having faced the staying distance on four prior occasions for only one placing.
“It looked his race, but it’s never as easy as it looks,” O’Brien said. “In the run it was pretty painless. He really outstayed them.
“He’s an interesting horse, whenever he gallops at home he’ll run through the line.
“He loves to gallop and even past the post he never stops.”
O’Brien didn’t make mention of any potential spring targets, believing the son of Encosta de Lago has probably found the right level.
“This is probably his standard,” he said. “We ran him through the spring, but it just gets tougher and tougher for the local horses.
“We might even keep going. There’s a two-mile race in Sydney in two weeks (Stayer’s Cup) and if he comes through this we might give him a trip up to Sydney and see how he goes here.”
Mujadale battled on well for second albeit multiple lengths behind the winner and Like A Carousel ran third at place odds of $4.40.