HARRY Coffey landed well backed Ballarat winner Dancethenightaway on Tuesday in a race where he didn’t have a ride.
Then he took the almost even-money favourite Toompine to the starting barrier three races later and didn’t get a ride.
This had to go down as one of the more confusing days in the jockey’s calendar.
It also reflected that no matter what you think is going to happen, all sorts of things bob up to make it a tough day at the office.
Just ask most of Swan Hill’s trainers.
Looking for a win anywhere after a few lean weeks for local stables, five trainers – Con Kelly, Nathan Hobson, Jane Duncan, Helen Burns and Noel Watson – took 10 horses to Warracknabeal in a blitz attack.
That missed the target.
Best performance of the day was Jane Duncan’s Hawkeyedhost, which finished third in a $27,000 maiden plate, a length adrift of the winner (but paid a handy $6.80 for the place).
Meanwhile, in Ballarat, Coffey had high hopes with some good horses booked.
The venue has been something of a happy hunting ground for Coffey – he won there with uncle Shane Fliedner on August 18, after landing a double there for the McEvoy stable three days earlier.
But on a cold and wet Ballarat day, a smiling Coffey got off to a totally unexpected good start with fellow hoop Mitch Aitken failing to make the weight for the first on the card.
That let Coffey happily hop aboard Dancethenightaway for a fighting win, finishing a head clear of the chasers.
Then in the $27,000 Equine Crossings Australia (1100m) Handicap he got $2.30 favourite Toompine to the race start, was loaded into the machine and then his horse started playing up, getting a foot over one of the rails.
Coffey jumped off, clambering to the empty gate one while barrier attendants tried to sort out his horse.
Backed out for a vet check, it was a late scratching, and for Coffey it was about putting the thumb out and hoping to catch a ride back to the jockeys’ room.
“It’s good when you are winning, but not very nice here today, especially around the side there,” Coffey said.
“You could feel the rain coming in. On a typical Ballarat day, it will come and go.
“Yeah, it was nice to start the day with a winner, I picked the ride up late so it will be interesting to see if it’s on the manager’s bill this month,” he laughs.
“We got a fairly even time and Christine (Christine Puls on Savoie) controlled the race and just getting to the 1000m, it still felt like we were going pretty steadily, and I was quite mindful because Henry (trainer Henry Dwyer) said the filly is pretty one paced.
“And just as I was thinking that, John (Allan on favourite Halcyon East) was one step ahead and he was moving into the race, and we started to build the speed up from 800m onwards and it probably suited my filly.
“That sort of pressure from John out wide kept us honest and then she fought of them late challenges.
“Probably in the right place at the right time.”
