SWAN Hill jockey Harry Coffey is heading into the William Reid Stakes meeting at Moonee Valley this Saturday smack in the middle of a seriously purple patch.
On Tuesday, at the Bendigo races he came home with a double, then backed that up at Sandown Hillside on Wednesday with two more in the bag.
Saturday he will be on the boom filly Arabian Summer in the $1 million Group 1 William Reid over 1200m.
With five wins and three placings from 10 starts – most with Coffey in the saddle – Arabian Summer already has $1.4 million in the bank, but the William Reid is a significant step up.
However, Coffey signalled he will be up for the challenge on Wednesday when he took the fancied Symon Wilde mare Amizetta to a runaway victory in the $55,000 Sportsbet Feed Handicap – her first start over 2400m.
Coming into town with good form from Terang and Ararat and jumping up to BM68 the horse showed her potential as a true stayer.
Despite the pair finding themselves out on a bit of a limb and trapped wide early, Coffey didn’t panic and crossed to lead and control the tempo from 1800m out.
And he didn’t have to do all that much to stay there as everyone else seemed content to bowl along behind in the staying contest of the day.
Coming around the last turn Coffey upped the ante, hugging the rail. At the 300m it looked like a big ask as the field stacked up behind but barely 100m later Coffey’s clever sectionals paid off and it was all over, bar the shouting.
Coffey said the decision to lead was almost made for him because “we were going slow, and I just couldn’t get in”.
He said Wylde and the team had explained to him the horse was a “bit green” and it would probably be better to guide this one.
“But when there was no speed, and I was exposed three wide I had to roll on and do it by myself,” Coffey said.
“And when we were out there in front I thought ‘uh, oh, if this doesn’t work we’re going to be in trouble here.
“Fortunately enough for me she is continuing to take improvement at each start, and picking up what the game is all about.
“Then she got into a lovely rhythm and kept extending and held them off. She was very good, and her rhythm was so lovely it was more like a track gallop, and we were able to quicken when she wanted to rather than when being under pressure.”
But if Coffey was on a horse punters thought a likely chance, it was a different story in the last of the day – the $55,000 Sportsbet More Places Handicap over 1600m. He was aboard Carnival Row, a four-year-old gelding, also from the McEvoy stable – and not overly fancied by anyone, starting in double figures.
He found a good spot with cover, was always in touch with the frontrunners and once the field straightened for the run home Coffey timed the final 350m to perfection, catching the leaders on the post, with a half head separating first, second and third.
“I was always confident we had got there, we had a lot of momentum and got a lovely run,” Coffey said.
“But it did get a bit tight late.
“I am glad this one got up because we were a bit stiff with one earlier on and to keep them team happy you have to keep on winning, and that’s what we did.
“He is definitely getting better, but what’s up top in the head isn’t fully there yet and he worries about everything else, but he is going pretty well at the moment.
“The team is doing a great job with him, and you have got to know them inside and out, and you’ve got to ride him in a manner that makes everything easy for him and he can use his good finish.
“Everything went really well today, he is a little bit difficult but the way he ran out that race today was just terrific.”
