Seventh heaven as Cook’s Conca conquers
A SPARKING run of form has continued for Tim Cook’s gelding Conca Del Sogno after the red-hot runner made it seven wins in a row in Magic Millions Electrical Plate at Mackay.
Seven on the trot for Conca Del Sogno! The short priced favourite gets the job done in R4 at Mackay.
— Racing Queensland (@racing_qld) July 8, 2017
The $1.50 favourite at Crownbet.com.au was stepping up in journey but was still expected to canter in, but after a riderless horse threatened to disrupt the rhythm of the field.
Conca Del Sogno looked to have been shuffled back and had every excuse not to hit the line strongly, but the four-year-old found the optimal effort at the right time to extend its win streak to an incredible seven victories.
Another super ride from Zoe White on CONCA DEL SOGNO there. Maybe not so hard when you are on the best horse but still have to get it done.
— BrisburghPhil (@BrisburghPhil) July 8, 2017
Cook said his galloper actually was badly hampered by the riderless horse, but his gelding was classy enough to overcome the mid-race trouble.
“He did get impended in the run at about the 1000m,” Cook told HorseBetting.com.au.
“So the rider sort of drove him up the fence for about 100m, and he actually hurt himself and got his front leg cut on the rail.
“So the win probably was a bit better than how it looked.”
Conca Del Sogno won from Gold Cufflinks, which returned a healthy$2.30 at Sportsbet.com.au while second favourite Under The Weather plugged away well to round out the placings and deliver $1.90 to WilliamHill.com.au customers.
Cook said the win was arguably the most important race of the horse’s short career to date, given it proved a step up in journey will yield no problems.
“Today, if the distance doesn’t suit he’s probably just a 1400m horse,” the trainer explained.
“To see him handle that, along with that interference, just proves he’s a good horse. And good horses will always find a way to win.”
While nailing a seventh straight win was a great coup for the trainer, Cook could not help but feel aggrieved that Conca Del Sogno was not in the feature event of the day.
Conca Del Sogno a $3.10 favourite for Mackay Newmarket but won't get a run. Shows how stupid the situation is.
— BrisburghPhil (@BrisburghPhil) July 7, 2017
“He was good but he probably should have been in the (Mackay Newmarket),” the trainer bemoaned.
“He probably beats those horses too. The Newmarket was our goal today and we didn’t get in it, so that’s the disappointing part about today.
“But anyway, there’s always next year.”
As for the eighth win of its career, Cook is unsure of how his horse will rate after the win.
The trainer said he will wait and see where the horse is in the standings before he makes a decision on its next move.
“There’s a race in town in three weeks we’ll try and get him into, but we’ll see how he goes with the handicappers,” he explained.
“If he gets enough points to get into that he’ll race there, otherwise he’ll be out to the paddock.”