Newmarket Hcp the focus after Flying Artie’s first up failure
STAR colt Flying Artie is still the $6.50 favourite for the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap on March 11 at Sportsbet.com.au despite a disappointing run in the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes at Flemington on Saturday.
The three-year-old was not helped by calamitous pre-race commotion which saw The Quarterback, Faatinah and Orujo all withdrawn at the barriers after the trio played up in the barrier.
The chaos at the stalls meant Flying Artie was left in the stalls longer than usual which agitated the colt, leading to an uncharacteristically unsettled run from the prodigiously talented prospect.
Eight-year-old Terravista ($9 at Sportsbet.com.au) upset its much younger rivals to claim the group 1 sprint.
The hectic beginning, alongside getting pocketed at a vital stage of the race, meant the first up record of Flying Artie, which has seen him never finish outside the top two placings, was broken in a peculiar race.
Trainer Mick Price said it was a ‘long five minutes’ waiting for the race to unfold, but he will move on quickly from the letdown.
“It is onwards and upwards to the Newmarket and hopefully we have a better day, but it was not pretty to watch,” Price said in the aftermath of the race.
The trainer said Flying Artie had too much to do too late once an opening presented itself.
It was not like him, [the horse] had nowhere to go by the time the gates finally opened 250m out.
“A horse can’t pick himself from there.”
It was a forgettable run for the race favourite, but Price said jockey Damian Oliver was optimistic after the race that it was just an unfortunate set of circumstances that led to the disappointing effort.
“[Damian Oliver] said that his action was good and said ‘he threw me out the back when all that commotion started’ he said he wasn’t too bad in the barriers, but it just stirred him up,
“It was a bit hard to know where he should have finished, it was just one thing after another.”