The market told the story in the Victory Stakes. Punters launched on Splash Back and avoided Private Harry like the plague.
Splash Back was hammered form $21 into a starting price of $8, the late plunge only intensified as the gates approached. By jump time, the Cranbourne mare was one of the best-backed runners on the program, and what followed justified every bit of that confidence.
There was a very different betting move in the same race that proved just as telling. Boom sprinter Private Harry, having his first start for Chris Waller, was a notable drifter, easing from $2.90 out to $6.50. Private Harry had every chance in the run and was disappointing late – justifying the market drift.
First-up since a run in the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes during Cup Week at Flemington Racecourse, Splash Back found herself in all sorts early. Dragged back to near last as they rolled along at a genuine tempo, she was spotting the leaders a big start and still had a wall of horses in front of her turning for home.
It was here that Michael Rodd made the race-winning call.
Rather than try to peel wide and concede further ground, he elected to stick tight to the inside rail, trusting that something might open. At the top of the straight, it looked optimistic at best. But as the field fanned, the gaps came and Splash Back drove straight through along the paint, building through her gears to charge past them late and score a dominant win.
Stable representative Jack Lake, speaking on behalf of Grahame Begg, summed up the feeling in the camp as the race unfolded.
“She was very good at the top of the straight after I thought oh she has a lot of ground to make up here. I’m still getting my breath back as I did a lot of cheering there.”
The ride itself was central to the result.
“Just to get up on the rail and save ground was crucial. She is spot on for the Tatt’s Tiara.”
Rodd admitted he wasn’t exactly travelling full of confidence approaching the turn.
“They went along at a decent clip and I was out the back and wasn’t going anywhere straightening up. I was struggling a bit and thought I’m staying on the inside.”
What happened next even caught him by surprise.
“I couldn’t believe it was opening up in front of my eyes and she will be even better when she gets out over a little bit further.”
There was a sense pre-race that the market had underestimated her, particularly off her Victorian form, and Rodd alluded to that post-race.
“You see her form down south and I think she was the price she was because of maybe the track and obviously the distance.”
Lake reinforced that internally, this performance didn’t come out of the blue.
“She has beaten some good horses today and we always thought she was up to that class. It’s not always easy to come on the road travelling but the horse was up to the test.”
Splash Back’s turn-of-foot was devastating, leaving the beaten brigade in her wake.
It was the type of win that tends to travel. First-up, off a break, interstate, conceding a start and still finishing over the top of them. Horses that can do that usually measure up in better races.
The Tatt’s Tiara now looms as the logical next step, and on what she produced here, she won’t be going there to make up numbers.
