IT’S not often Harry Coffey gets things seriously wrong.
But there’s no doubt the Swan Hill jockey would love to have a chance to go back to Tuesday morning and start all over again.
Because when he strongly urged connections not to back their long shot maiden Ozam’s Razor in the $27,000 bet365 Odds Drift Protect Plate over 1500m at Bendigo, he got it horribly wrong.
Now he wishes he had a razor of his own – to cut his tongue out – after the three-year-old gelding absolutely blitzed the field at 20/1.
Immediately after the race, Coffey said he wanted to send his condolences to one of the families involved with the horse.
“They were wanting to back this horse of mine, and I said ‘no, no, he might need another run’ so now I’ll have to walk back into the rooms and confront them after turning them off, so I apologise to the whole crew,” Coffey grinned.
Of course, winners are grinners, and everybody loves a winner.
And once Ozam’s Razor really got going – in just his second start – he looked every inch a winner, on the day and going forward.
Coffey agreed “he had a powerful finish, no question. I’m unsure where his opponents will get to, but he’s got a whole lot of improvement and will be able to hold himself well when he goes up in grades,” he explained.
“But that said, he’s going to have to put it better together mentally as he is very raw; it’s like riding a big foal.
“I had to work with him out the back, and get along with him OK, he wanted to fight me early and then gave me a nice feel when quickening – and then a lot of pulling up so he’s got a lot of improvement.
“I don’t know what Henry (Dwyer, trainer,) and team will do with him because he’s a big strong lad, but once he chills out a bit and relaxes better in his races I imagine he will be able to get out over 2000m and have a powerful finish at the end of it.”
In the $27,000 Drake International Handicap over 1300m Coffey was on a completely different kettle of fish – a heavily-backed Ciaron Maher three-year-old filly.
And he came up smelling of Shockletz as he jumped cleanly in the nine-horse field and found himself not far off the pace and with room to move.
As they swung into the home straight Coffey moved towards the middle of the straight for a clean run home and once he popped the question, Shockletz delivered.
The five-year-old gelding Babalola tried to go with them but was simply out of his league and Coffey and Shockletz cruised to the second win of the horse’s four career starts.
With Coffey in the saddle the horse ran second in her first start at Ballarat in September last year, then at Bendigo a month later collected its first win – also with Coffey.
An ambitious tilt at the Wakeful in Flemington on November 2 went awry with Declan Bates given the ride – Shockletz finishing almost 10 lengths adrift.
Spelled for 26 weeks after that, Coffey was back in control for this latest start and Shockletz was back in the winner’s circle.
Speaking post-race, Coffey happily admitted he had been more confident suggesting this horse would win as opposed to Ozam’s Razor three runs earlier.
But not without some small reservations.
“She has had a couple of jump outs where she just poked around but I know her well now and she actually has some nice ability,” he added.
“So she was very well placed today, and drew a nice gate, but the only thing I was concerned about was there were a couple of tough old on-speed horses in this one.
“I told the owners that pre-race and that might really draw us out, which could have brought her undone as she is pretty inexperienced, but they actually went at a tempo which came back to us.
“And that gave her a chance to travel, and she was just too classy late.”
Coffey said the filly has developed a nice action after her previous prep when she had been very green in her racing.
He said at that time she didn’t quite know how to use herself, but in this race she was lovely to ride.
“So obviously she has gone out and had a spell and now come back and nicer horse and while she’s small and delicate she’s got a motor there and I think she’ll probably go to town now and run well there,” he said.
