Mr Sneaky stalks rivals before kicking clear at Caulfield
THERE was nothing sly about the win of Mr Sneaky at Caulfield on Saturday, as the underrated gelding continued its winning ways.
Punters were firmly in the camp of the three-year-old by High Chaparral which paid $2.50 at Sportsbet.com.au, and after getting back in the early stages, it found the space at the right time and burst through for the win in the No Fuss Events Hire Handicap.
With Dwayne Dunn in the saddle, the Lee and Anthony Freedman-trained gelding didn’t jump well as per usual, and punters had reason to be concerned approaching the turn, but the field spread out which allowed Mr Sneaky to come through horses and stretch its neck out impressively.
“That wasn’t the way things were going to be planned out, just had to play the cards that were dealt to me,” Dunn said.
“We were fortunate enough to slip through up underneath a few on the bend and the horse did the rest.”
Dunn explained the disappointing trip to Sydney where it didn’t get a chance to shine and said a rise in distance is its calling card.
“Had a trip to Sydney and went off in the barriers, that’s why the barrier blanked was applied today,” Dunn said. “The 1400m is an ideal trip for him where he has the better killer punch, but today it was great to get the job done.”
Representing the Freedman Stables was former Te Akau Stud racing manager Brad Taylor, who was celebrating his first Saturday win with the team after leaving New Zealand to live with his partner in Melbourne.
“Lovely to get one on the board,” Taylor said. “It was a hard decision to make, leaving such a good organisation in New Zealand.
“Dave (Ellis) and Karen do a fantastic job, but there’s one lucky lady here I guess.”
Taylor is planning on sending the three-year-old to the Scone carnival after deciding to bypass the Hawkesbury meeting on Saturday.
“He had that set back in Sydney, had to bring him home and trial him,” Taylor said. “Today was to get him ready for Scone in a couple of weeks.
“We were going to go to Hawkesbury, but we decided to keep him here before Scone.”