Outsider rules on dead track- Left: Grant Dalziel gives jockey Mark Pegus some instructions fo

By Paul Pickering
STRAIGHT-shooting Cranbourne trainer Robbie Griffiths gave Happy Glen ‘no chance’ in the Group 2 Caulfield Sprint on Saturday.
So he was shocked to see his five-year-old gelding come within a single length of upsetting unbackable favourite First Command.
Like the punters, Griffiths had all but ruled out his $51 chance after the Caulfield track was downgraded to ‘dead’ on Saturday morning.
But, as Griffiths noted after the race, a third-place finish may just have stamped Happy Glen as an all-weather contender.
“I’m absolutely rapt with the run,” he said, surrounded by excited connections in the mounting yard.
“If you’d asked me yesterday, I would’ve said he’s a good chance, but I gave him no hope this morning.
“He’s a good horse, but he usually needs the conditions to suit.”
Jockey Dean Holland rode Happy Glen on the pace early and into the lead at the 400m mark, before finishing off bravely to nudge David Hayes’ highly-rated sprinter Eagle Falls back into fourth.
The run has Griffiths planning a tilt at one of the 1100m events on Oaks Day. And like most racegoers, he’ll be hoping for a bit more sun over the next fortnight.
Griffiths’ other starter on Saturday was eight-year-old sprinter Cocinero, which laboured into ninth place in the Group 3 Betfair Stakes (1400m), seven lengths adrift of the impressive McClintock.
Meanwhile, Cranbourne-trained mare Belle’s Ready gave Mick Kent reason for optimism with her run in the 1100m last on Saturday. She finished behind runaway winner Seeking Attention, while Grant Dalziel’s rank outsider Snakey Princess ran an impressive sixth and Nikki Burke’s Avelon Royale faded into ninth place.
Earlier in the day, Brian Jenkins’ filly Seguro ran a serviceable fourth in the Jayco Stakes (2000m) and Pat Hyland-trained filly My Girl Helen finished ninth in the Arrowfield Stud Plate (1400m).