SWAN Hill jockey Harry Coffey has been packing them in for the new racing season – and was at it again at Pakenham’s synthetic track on Friday night.
He took out the $40,000 Sportsbet Fast Form over 1600m riding red-hot favourite Carnival Row for the McEvoy stable.
It was his ninth win from the first month of the season – at the impressive strike rate of 20.5 per cent.
But with the spring racing carnival just around the corner – and spring now officially here – Coffey is still looking for his first city winner of 2024-25 to catch the eye of trainers with the big guns for the biggest three months of the racing calendar.
He would still have made plenty sit up and take notice with his Pakenham success. It was a clinical performance after giving Carnival Row every chance to settle early in the mile and then waiting with a lot of patience and a very eagle eye for the opening needed.
Once he steered the four-year-old gelding into the open and pulled the trigger, he never looked in doubt, catching the leaders in the shadow of the post and still winning by a length.
Coffey had a bit of a laugh about it all after co-trainer Tony McEvoy had been interviewed about his horse as they were parading, then again after the win, and in between McEvoy had doubled up with a bit of strapping as well.
“(McEvoy) is an all-rounder, did everything but ride it, and even there he assures me he was a pretty good rider back in the day,” Coffey grinned.
“So I have to try and live up to his standard.”
Which, it turns out, might be easier said than done, with the jockey describing Carnival Row as a horse which can get a bit worked up before a race.
“Tony was putting a bit of a softener on him and keeping him calm,” Coffey said.
“And to his credit the horse was in a much better headspace tonight.
“We got led down to the barrier and the clerk did a good job and things all went pretty smoothly from then.
“Pre-race I was a little bit unsure what to do but Tony told me ‘don’t panic’. So when I got in the barrier I didn’t … panic,” he laughs.
“And we got a nice run, it all worked out, and there was a little gap at the top of the straight and when he is ridden in a manner where he switches off and it really all goes his way he has a really good turn of foot – and that showed tonight.”
Earlier last week Coffey also made the trip to Horsham and racked up another winner – this time in the $27,000 Bentley Group Maiden Plate over 1400m.
Riding four-year-old debutant gelding French Graffiti for Ciaron Maher, Coffey held off Summer Night, trained by his uncle Shane Fliedner, to win by almost a length.
