By David Nagel
Pakenham trainer Peter Moody joined the ever-increasing fan club of jockey Jamie Kah after the in-form hoop steered Snickerdoodledandy to victory in race two at Flemington on Saturday.
Moody joined the chorus of support for the star jockey when asked for his first impressions of the win, after the three-old-filly scored her first victory under his care since transferring across from the Perth yard of Daniel Morton last year.
“Oooh, aahh, Jamie Kah,” Moody said with a grin, to Racing.com after the race.
‘She’s a lovely rider isn’t she, her record shows that, but this filly has built to that win.
“She was good here the other day, and just got bloused by one at the weights, and she took that nice improvement today, and it was just a nice well-judged and well-timed ride.”
However Moody wasn’t always entirely confident of the eventual outcome.
“Half way down the straight I thought the rider (Patrick Moloney) on the leader (Witchfulthinking) had controlled the race extremely well and she might struggle to get to it, but who was I to doubt her.”
Moody will now aim his Snitzel/Crafty Irna filly – who has a record of four wins from 10 starts – at the $110,000 Rivette Series Final (1400m) at Flemington on Saturday, 3 July, or a three-year-old handicap on the same day.
“She ran second in a heat of that (Rivette Series) the other day, and there’s also a three-year-old handicap where she might be better suited anyway to get a bit of weight relief, because she’s already a stakes winner.
“She might have to go up against the boys to get that little bit of weight relief, particularly off the back of that win against the older mares.”
The champion trainer was confident that Snickerdoodledandy would continue to make her presence felt at Stakes level after winning a Listed race back in Perth.
“She’s certainly got that sort of ability, so that’s where we’ll aim her, sort of low-grade Stakes and see if we can build on the record she has built in Western Australia, which was pretty good.”
Pakenham trainers more than held their own on their home track on Friday with Frankie Stockdale and Phillip Stokes both preparing winners on the eight-race program.
The Cruiser got the job done for Stockdale, and broke his maiden status at start seven, after the three-year-old gelding scored a brave win in the $35,000 Maiden Plate (1200m).
The Cruiser was pushed early by jockey Aaron Lynch, who elected to stay wide from barrier 11 for the entire journey. Despite the tough three-wide run, The Cruiser put paid to his opposition mid-way down the straight and cruised to the line under a good hold.”
Lynch said the $2.50 favourite was always travelling well, despite the three-wide run.
“He was in a nice rhythm and I believe we went slowly anyway, so it didn’t hurt being three wide,” Lynch explained.
Three-year-old gelding Kermy is moving nicely through the grades after taking out the $35,000 Class 1 Handicap (1400m) at Pakenham on Friday.
Kermy scored a soft maiden win over the same course and trip, two starts back, before running second at his first start out of maiden class.
The Kermadec/Assertive Sound gelding made light work of the opposition on Friday, camping on a hot pace before taking the lead at the top of the straight and careering away to victory.
The $2.80 favourite showed a good turn of foot and exploded away at the 200 to put a gap in them.
Jockey Ben Allen said Kermy was as honest as they come.
“He tries his heart out and that’s all you can ask from him,” Allen said.
‘It probably didn’t go as planned, I would like to have been outside the leader, but there was a bit of pressure early and it was good that he was able to come back, switch off, get into a good rhythm, and was too good.”
Kermy now has a record of two wins, four seconds and a third from eight career starts.
And Pakenham trainer Nick Harnett will be breathing a little easier after Cyclone Sally scored a well-deserved two-length victory in the $22,000 BM58 Handicap (1600m) at Bairnsdale on Sunday.
The four-year-old grey mare, out of Puissance de Lune, had run second and third at her two most recent outings so thoroughly deserved the win.
Cyclone Sally controlled the race throughout, sitting third and fourth the trip, before running away for an easy victory at just her second start at the trip.
It was Cyclone Sally’s first win since saluting at Pakenham over 1400-metres in October last year.
Pakenham’s next scheduled meeting is on Tuesday, 22 June.
