HARRY Coffey set Flemington alight at the weekend, storming to a front-running victory on the red-hot favourite Persan to win Saturday’s coveted $175,000 JRA Trophy over 2600m.
It was a masterclass in how to run a race at the front, from go to whoa.
When Coffey crossed the line standing high in the irons, the second placed horse was almost two lengths away, with third a further five lengths adrift.
The victory put horse and rider in some fairly rarefied air – the listed stakes race shifts around Australia and its most recent winners when held at Flemington have been Brew (2000), Maybe Better (2006) and Almandin (2017).
Prizemoney for the day also brought career earnings for the six-year-old gelding to $1.7 million – with the $2 million dollar milestone almost within reach.
The horse has 36 starts for eight wins and 11 placings and was, co-trainer Mark Eustace said post-race, “a real favourite of the whole team”.
“That was fantastic,” Eustace said. “He has been a stable stalwart for a really long time, and he’s run in some top races, obviously in the (Melbourne) Cup, and to get him back here winning races is a great thrill for everyone.”
The laconic Coffey, never one to talk himself up, was much more realistic.
“David (Eustace) said to me that he was very happy with the ride but when you’re winning everybody is happy – that’s the way the world goes,” Coffey said.
“But I was pretty happy with his effort, we got a nice time up front and we built up from the 1200m and knew he was the class horse in the race.
“Just with the weight disadvantage (Persan was carrying 6kg more than every other of the 10 horses) he had with the rest of the field, I didn’t want to be left sitting and having to sprint when they did, so I allowed him to roll into it nicely and he was the class horse and got the job done.
“We rolled along, it was almost like trackwork for him through the first half and he only came off the bridle when the Matt Cumani horse (Nobel Heights) challenged us the last 200m.
“It’s awesome to ride winners at Flemington, but on horses like him, that are old gentlemen, that deserve to get a victory. They get penalised for showing a lot of ability early on, they fly up the ratings, and then they sort of go missing a bit.
“I’m really proud of him and the Maher team to get him back in the winners’ stall today.”
Persan could use this success at headquarters for a crack at the $200,000 Bagot Handicap (2800m) on New Year’s Eve.
On Friday at Geelong, Coffey had also continued his charge to successive 100-win plus seasons when he landed the $27,500 Titan Building Group Slipper over 1209m.
It was a solid win against a solid field and as the first half of the racing year draws to a close, Coffey sits on 39 winners – 33 on country tracks and six in the city.
Earlier on the Saturday at Benalla, it was the turn of trainer Nathan Hobson to fly the Swan Hill flag with a good win to Reward with Return in the $20,000 Royal Hotel Benalla Handicap over 1106m.
It was the last event on the card, and jockey Robert Beattie waited until the last strides of the race to come out of nowhere and snatch the victory.
The race six win saw Hobson’s horse lift its career earnings to $403,250 on the back of 15 wins and 23 placings.
