Front-running tactics pay dividends for Improvement
GARY Portelli-trained four-year-old Improvement has gotten itself back in the winner’s circle for the first time in nine months after delivering a start-to-finish win in a benchmark 85 race at Randwick.
Being driven out by jockey Lee Magorrian, the highly credentialed mare lead for the majority of the race and kicked strongly into the straight before staving off a strong challenge from the resuming Collateral ($5.10 at Crownbet) which just missed on the line.
Improvment, which paid $4.20 at Ladbrokes, took its record to five wins from 12 starts.
Trainer Gary Portelli said he always believed the horse would be a winning chance despite failing to win since January 14.
“I was,” Portelli said when asked if he was confident Improvement could win.
“I said to Lee ‘be aggressive, be the leader, get out of the gates and show your hand early and hopefully they’ll leave you alone’ and we just lasted.”
The trainer said the soft track did not do the mare any favours.
“Being a soft track today probably just made it a little bit harder for her.
“That’s as far as she wants.”
“When you go out to lead, lead. Make the horses behind you know they’ve been in a race. You take the sprint out of some of the horses around you, the horses around us, they dropped off.
“If you get going to the lead and make it a truly run race then everyone is happy.”
Meanwhile, the trainer confirmed that his star galloper Single Bullet will make a trip down south to compete in the Group Three Red Anchor Stakes after being scratched from the Randwick races.
“Had it been a seven this morning he’d race today, but anyway he’s at home eating his feed.
“He’ll go around next Saturday at Moonee Valley in a group three for three-year-olds.”