By David Nagel
SPORT 2021 IN REVIEW – RACING
PAGES FOR TOP OF PAGE
08-12-2021 Page 48 Classic Kah claims cup
17-11-2021 Page 62 King Griffiths of Cranny
03-11-2021 Page 46 Incentivise brave in cup
20-10-2021 Page 48 Locals have big day out
Champion-trainer Peter Moody added a special piece of silverware to an already bulging trophy cabinet in 2021 when his five-year-old gelding Incentivise blitzed his opposition in one of the greatest Caulfield Cup wins of all time.
Moody, who now trains at Pakenham, won what many would consider his ‘home cup’ after his many years of training at Caulfield prior to taking a four-year hiatus from the sport.
From his Caulfield base, Moody trained Australia’s greatest-ever sprinter – champion mare Black Caviar – and earned a reputation as one of the great sprinter-miler trainers in the nation.
But Incentivise gave him his first victory in one of the Grand Slams of Australian racing – with the big four, the Melbourne Cup (3200m), Caulfield Cup (2400m), Cox Plate (2040m) and Golden Slipper (1200m) the races every trainer wants to win.
Moody’s Shamus Award/Miss Argyle five-year-old gelding made a one-act affair of one of Australia’s premier staying tests with a dominant three-and-a-half length win in the $5million (2400m) Group-1 classic.
Moody took over the training of Incentivise from Toowoomba-based trainer Steve Tregea in July last year and he made a Group-1 clean sweep of his first three starts in Melbourne.
Incentivise earned favouritism for the Caulfield Cup with impressive victories in the Makybe Diva Stakes and Turnbull Stakes, but took his reputation and career to a whole new level on Caulfield Cup day.
Moody, who now trains in a much more relaxed atmosphere at Pakenham, said it great to win the Caulfield Cup after many years of calling the place home.
“It’s unbelievable, Caulfield was my home for 16 or 17 years and I trained a couple of thousand winners here but never this one, so it’s very important to win it,” Moody said post-race.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity, thanks to (owners) Brae Sokolski and Ozzie Kheir, that laid the seed and purchased the horse and recommended that he come to my yard.
‘And a big thanks to Steve Tregea and his team and his family, he’s the owner, former trainer and breeder of this horse.”
Moody and Incentivise have strong Queensland connections, with the trainer hailing from Wyandra in country Queensland while the horse was born and bred by Tregea in Toowoomba.
“A big shout out to everyone in Toowoomba and the Darling Downs, this one’s for you,” Moody said proudly.
Moody said he and jockey Brett Prebble had never panicked after drawing the widest gate for the big race, and everything worked according to plan.
“We weren’t going to rush it, Brett took his time, he found a lovely spot and knew where he wanted to be down the side, he said he wanted to be six or seven off and build into the race,” Moody said.
“He said he didn’t care how the first 1200 goes, he just wanted to be allowed to build into it from the half-way mark onwards.
“He gives you a bit of a heart-flutter this horse, he hits that bit of a flat spot coming down the side, but he just kept building and it was a super effort.”
Incentivise then did his trainer and Pakenham proud, starting a pronounced favourite in the $7.75 million Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday 2 November, running second to Chris Waller’s champion mare Verry Elleegant.
Verry Elleegant scored by four lengths from Incentivise, with overseas raider Spanish Mission in third place and Floating Artist in fourth.
Incentivise raced outside the leader, Persan, for the best part of the race and hit the lead as the field turned for home. But Verry Elleegant cruised up to Incentivise at the 400-metre mark and raced away to score.
Champion jockey Jamie Kah returned to the winner’s enclosure for the first time in more than three months after a brilliant victory aboard the Ciaron Maher/David Eustace-trained Smokin’ Romans in the Listed $300,000 Pakenham Cup (2500m) on Saturday 4 December.
Kah had a smile from ear-to-ear after giving the five-year-old gelding a dream run in the cup, run in front of an enthusiastic crowd for the first time since 2019.
Smokin’ Romans was never threatened in the straight, holding off the local challenge of the Phillip Stokes-trained Good Idea to win by two lengths on the line, with the Matt Cumani-trained Team Captain two lengths further back in third.
Kah was ecstatic after riding her first winner since piloting the Peter Moody-trained Invincible Caviar to victory at Sale on August 22.
Kah was returning to the track after being suspended for attending an illegal gathering during Victoria’s Covid-19 lockdown.
“It’s amazing, I’ve missed it greatly, I love the horses and that’s why I do it, and to come back on a day like today, with the crowds here, and get a win like that it’s very rewarding,” Kah said after the race.
“I’m just really happy to be back.”
Smokin’ Romans has had an incredible campaign, with his Pakenham Cup win his 14th start in 2021, with nothing more than a five-week freshen up between runs.
“They’re amazing horses, and this horse is just the same, it makes you really give credit to Dave (Eustace) and Ciaron (Maher), they have had this horse up for so long and I’ve never seen him look this good,” Kah said.
“I knew I had a fit horse underneath me, so if I needed to go if I got challenged, I could, but I wanted to give him the easiest ride I could early.
“He does it all himself this horse, he can feel them coming and he quickens up when they get to him.
“He was just amazing out there today. It made my job easy.”
Eustace was equally impressed with one of his stable favourites.
“He is an absolute legend, he’s been in work over a year and he just keeps turning up, he loves his racing and he’s just getting better and better,” Eustace said.
“Jamie did what she does, she rode him as he jumped, and he jumped well, and she just let him stride and got him in a beautiful rhythm and it’s great to have her back…she’s a star of the sport and she showed why today.
“She’s just a very naturally gifted rider, it’s a rare thing, she’s got it, the horses run for her and that horse stretched very well for her today.”
Other highlights of 2021 included the ongoing strike-rate of Pakenham’s two big-guns, Moody and former Adelaide-trainer Phillip Stokes, with the pair training winners for fun across the course of last year.
Fellow Pakenham trainers Charlotte Littlefield, Shane Stockdale, Mick Huglin, Caroline Jennings, Paul Kramer, Sunny Reeve, Ebony Tucker and Jason Bridgman were also regulars in the winners’ stalls showing the depth of talent that the Pakenham training centre now possesses.
The South-East corridor of Melbourne is quickly becoming one of the major racing regions in the State, with the relocation of former Caulfield trainers to Cranbourne providing a further boost to the region.
And, speaking of Cranbourne, it was great to see local trainer Robbie Griffiths claim his first Cranbourne Cup after King Magnus defeated a strong field, on a heavy track, in the $500,000 local classic (1600m).
Griffiths, who now trains in partnership with Mathew de Kock, has been a familiar face at Cranbourne for 30 years, when a young jockey decided to dip his toes into the training ranks after rising weight became a burden on his riding career.
“This is big, this is very special because to win your hometown cup, especially this year, the inaugural running of the TAB Cranbourne Cup, in our first year as a partnership, it’s very, very special,” Griffiths said post-race.
