Inspector breaks long winning drought in spectacular fashion
PETER White-trained Inspector has overturned a terrible run of form to win the Comedy King Handicap at Flemington in a muddling-run race.
In a blanket finish the six-year-old found the front in the dying stages of the race to return $8.20 at WilliamHill.com.au ahead of a fast-finishing Coldstone ($11.60 at Sportsbet.com.au) and Give Us A Go which returned $4.20 at Bet365.com.au.
The win overturned an ordinary run of form for the talented gelding, which had finished in the second half of the field in its last three starts.
The gelding also had not won since 2015.
Prior to @FlemingtonVRC Sat, most recent wins for:
De Little Engine (Nov 3, ’15)
Inspector (Nov 1, ’15)@Racing— Luke Sheehan (@LukeDSheehan) May 6, 2017
Inspector wins race 4 for Peter White & Brandon Stockdale, but it’s a nightmare race for backers of many, including Pure Pride & Tshahitsi. pic.twitter.com/s2wbbdGm5C
— Racing.com (@Racing) May 6, 2017
One of the better backed runners of the day in Pure Pride struggled to get into the race given how unevenly run the race panned out and failed to feature in the finish.
Pass me the sick bag. #PurePride
— Brad Bishop (@bradbishop12) May 6, 2017
Inspector’s jockey Brandon Stockdale said the horse relishes the competitive nature of racing.
“Yeah he does,” Stockdale said when asked if Inspector loves racing.
Stockdale said that Inspector had a good enough run in transit to overcome what was a difficult and messy race for the majority of the field.
“He bounced out nice, he travelled well for me throughout the race and when I asked him to quicken up he really knuckled down and went strong to the line,” he said.
“It was great to get the job done.”
The win was Inspector’s first visit to the winner’s circle since November of 2015, and trainer Peter White believes it was not a moment too soon.
“It’s about time,” the trainer said post-race.
“He’s had some bad luck I suppose but I’ve put a lot of work into him to get him right.
“I’ve seen a lot of little dramas, but he’s got ability.”
The horse has seen a number of different distance trips in its fruitless period of racing, but White believes he may have unlocked the winning formula today.
“1400m or a mile I’d say,” White said of Inspector’s ideal trip.
“But I think he likes the straights, he’s got a bit of a problem with the front legs which we’re working on all the time.
“I think he likes that because he can go in a straight line.”