Sadlers figure in family double at Sandown
Apprentice Tom Saddler couldn’t let his father hog all the limelight at Sandown.
After John Sadler trained Makatiti to win on Wednesday, Tom rode Rezak to take out the Cove Hotel Handicap.
“I couldn’t let dad go getting too far ahead of himself,” Sadler said.
Sent out a $13 chance, the Greg Eurell-trained Rezak defeated Lake Jackson ($10) by a head with Miss Cooper ($26) 1-3/4 lengths away third.
The victory was in contrast to Makatiti’s in the Grand Hotel Frankston Plate.
Whereas Rezak came from back in the field, Makatiti chased the leader Outdone over the 1400m before scoring by a half length.
Makatiti, ridden by Ben Melham, was having his ninth start on Wednesday and John Sadler said the victory was long overdue.
“I thought the second horse was going to fight back and beat him and I felt like running off and hiding,” he said.
“There’s a lot worse horses going around but he just doesn’t transfer what he shows us at home on to the racetrack.
“You do all the obvious things like back off their work, change the gear around but as soon as he gets near the lead, or a challenging position, he loses it.
“He just doesn’t know how to run away from them.”