In Brief
- Warrior Prince a narrow but impressive winner.
- Bandinelli game in defeat.
- Runaway Girl rewards patience for trainer.
Promising three-year-old Warrior Prince dug deep when it mattered to score his second win in three career starts in the Great Northern Class 1 Hcp (1009m) in Devonport on Sunday.
The Adam Trinder-trained gelding was having his first start this preparation but was a recent trial winner on 14 July which combined with his maiden victory just prior to the COVID-19 shutdown was enough for punters to send him out the firm $2.35 favourite.
After the second elect and race leader Blushed ($3.80) weakened quickly from the home turn, the horse racing to her outside Bandinelli ($11) shot clear and looked the winner at his first start in the state for new trainer Siggy Carr.
But under hard riding from jockey David Pires, Warrior Prince wore down Bandinelli in the shadows of the post with that pair putting three-lengths on Uninterrupted ($17) back in third place.
“He jumped well and he travelled quite strong down the back and when he got to about the 500-metre mark he changed stride and dropped the bit and it took me a little while to pick him back up again,” explained the winning rider David Pires who landed just behind the two leaders in running.
“I was really pleased with the way that he picked himself back up when we straightened up and really knuckled down and got the job done.
“I think he’s got a lot of ability he’s just still mentally learning about it as well,” added the jockey who also rode Special Moment for Trinder to finish third in the last race of the day.
Runaway Girl
Pires started the new racing season with a double, his first winner coming aboard a horse he admitted to almost giving up on in Runaway Girl ($5) that won the Jockey Celebration Day Maiden (1350 metres).
Runway Girl (David Pires) wins in Devonport on 2 August.
“I’ve been riding the horse in track work and I said to Scott (Brunton) I was frustrated with her getting beat over the 1200m (twice) and then the 1100m and I said I’m done with this horse.
“I thought she’d never win a race, but Scott said we’ll try her over a bit further.
“When I went past the 150m mark on Sunday I could hear Scott yelling I told you so and I just had to laugh,” chuckled Pires about the seven-year-old mare who had placed in each of her three previous starts since transferring to Brunton’s Seven Mile Beach stables.
The mare drifted towards the outside rail in the home straight, something Pires puts down to her recent efforts in Hobart.
“Because we’ve been racing on that outside fence in Hobart, she assumed we were heading there and veered out there off her own accord.”
Watch the replay of Warrior Prince narrowly winning in Devonport on Sunday.