A happy apprentice jockey, Ibrahim Gundogdu, comes back to scale after saluting in his first race win on Partiva, despite finishing up on the filly’s neck after the saddle slipped during the race. Pictures: Luke Plummer.By Brad Kingsbury
CRANBOURNE apprentice jockey Ibrahim Gundogdu showed composure and poise beyond his years to steer three-year-old filly Partiva to victory after the saddle slipped early in the 1414-metre event.
It was Gundogdu’s first race win after several placings and it was also his first race ride for master Mick Kent.
The teenager was forced to ride up on the neck of the Kent-trained filly after the saddle gave way, but he showed superb horsemanship to keep his mount straight, hit the lead with 100 metres to go and run away to win by more than a length.
Owners’ representative Craig Arrowsmith praised the young rider after the race.
“Mick gave all the instructions (to Gundogdu) this morning and that’s his first winner after three seconds,” he said.
“Most kids would probably have pulled her up, but he’s got enough confidence in his own ability to do the job. He’ll make a good little rider one day.”
Partiva was backed into favouritism for the race ($3.50) and showed good ability to overcome the Class 1 field despite the equipment setback.
Arrowsmith said there were no immediate plans for her and it would be a matter of waiting to see how she recovered from the run.
Other highlights of the Queen’s Birthday meeting at Pakenham included a win to former champion flat jockey, now jumps rider, Patrick Payne on three-year-old filly Desert Heiress.
It was Payne’s jumping debut at the track and he said it was a thrill to win, especially given his sister, Therese Patton, trained the horse.
Payne said he believed it was the first time a three-year-old filly had won a hurdle race in Australasia.
The luck of racing hit Cranbourne trainers John Leek and Robbie Laing hard before Monday’s Pakenham meeting, with both losing top-line jumpers to injury before the start of the program.
Despite high hopes, Laing’s exciting prospect True Steel did not accept for the meeting after developing a severe infection in a hind leg and being sent to the Ballarat Veterinary Hospital.
Leek was forced to scratch his well-performed hurdler The Big Ask from the opening race, the Team Leek Steeplechase, in which it was odds-on favourite.
The rising stable star broke down with his third career tendon injury on the weekend and Leek said it was a major disappointment after it had been set to win the Pakenham race and then progress to the rich Melbourne jumping carnival next month.
Leek did have some joy at the meeting when he took out the Novice Hurdle with Colaton, ridden by his wife Andrea.
In other racing news, Cranbourne trainer Rodney Douglas is yet to decide whether boom two-year-old Sharkbite will be set on a Brisbane winter carnival mission despite the colt making it two wins from two starts in last week’s Toy Show Handicap at Sandown.
Douglas will wait and see how Sharkbite recovers from the gritty performance, in which he was forced to pull out all stops to beat the Mick Price-trained filly Estelle Collection, before deciding what path to take with the highly rated son of Redoute’s Choice, who cost $900,000 as a yearling.
The Brisbane race Douglas has in mind is the $100,000 Listed Australia Post Stakes (1400m) at Eagle Farm on 24 June.
Should he go to the paddock, Douglas will start preparations aimed at either the Caulfield Guineas on 15 October or the Sandown Guineas on 19 November.
