A look back at VRC Community Race Day

O’Brien opens account early with Aethera

Trainer Danny O’Brien is holding out Spring Carnival plans with debut winner Aethera after the filly scored in the TAB We’re On (1100m).

O’Brien bred the now two-year-old daughter of Shamus Award and races the filly with wife Nina and collected a handsome $82,500 in prize money with an extra $30,000 in VOBIS Silver Bonuses.

“Victoria is a good place to breed horses with the Super VOBIS prize money,” O’Brien said.

“They don’t owe you a lot by the time you get them to the races, and they can return a lot quickly if they can win early.”

O’Brien said he breeds up to six horses a year and sticks to stallions that he previously trained.

“This one is by Shamus Award which is one we have bred to over a number of years, including El Patroness who won an Australian Oaks and that was the theory with this filly,” O’Brien said.

“We bought another O’Reilly mare (Tralee Chorus) which is the same cross as El Patroness, and she’s since had a lot of upgrades to her pedigree through Orchestral and a few other nice horses.

“She’s bred to be pretty good, and Damien Thornton has been pretty positive about her.

“He’s done all her jump-outs on her and said there was a pretty big motor there, but she just doesn’t know how to do it yet.

“We saw a little bit late when she got out and she put that race to bed very quickly.

“I don’t think she has the stoutness of El Patroness as she was sharp winning over 1100 metres there, so maybe a mile may top her out, but there’s plenty of other good Stakes races besides the Oaks.”

Hamstring no strain on Nation’s Call

Hamstring strains can be detrimental to the career of sporting type, both human and equine.

However, if did not stop Nation’s Call from claiming the Fancy A Gallop Plate (1600m).

The Robbie Griffiths-trained galloper strained a hamstring when beating just three runners to the line at Sandown on May 23.

“He returned great, he was terrific second-up and then we thought he would win at Sandown, but we walked away from there a bit flat,” Griffiths said.

“He pulled up from there with a sore hamstring which we reported to the stewards and apparently there was a number of horses that pulled up ordinary as it was a gluey sort of track.

“Today at Flemington it is a beautiful surface, but it was hard to come here confident, but if we thought he could win last start, we thought he could win today.”

Griffiths explained Nation’s Call underwent physio work, ultrasound, laser, all the things that happen in the human world.

“We were a bit worried because once they start plaguing you those things, they can go and on and on, but he responded really well and here he is today,” Griffiths said.

Second time lucky for Johnstone

Tasmanian apprentice Jabez Johnstone was able to come out 35 minutes after his first Flemington ride to share honours in the Play On, For Neale (1600m) aboard the Ciaron Maher-trained Kaleo.

Johnstone’s first ride at Flemington aboard Terrortorian in the Fancy A Gallop Plate was a nightmare for the apprentice who is on a three-month loan to Maher.

The saddle slipped on Terrortorian giving Johnstone a torrid ride.

“In racing, things happen, and you have to move on to the next thing in the space of race-to-race,” Johnstone said.

“It was a bit of a messy start my first ride at Flemington with the saddle up on its ears, but I went out on this one confident and with a clear head.”

Johnstone had to share the win with Holly Durnan aboard the Patrick Payne-trained Dirnaseer, but the Tasmanian, despite his horror Flemington start, came out and rode with confidence.

“His last start run was really good and I knew the track would be no problem,” Johnstone said.

“I knew if he got the first half of the race right, he would have that good turn of foot late, which we did.”

Johnstone did not have to wait long to claim an outright Flemington winner when Duchess Zou took out the 20 Years Of Living Legends Trophy (1400m), giving the Maher stable three straight wins after Barari took out the VRC Community Race Day Sprint (1200m) under Harry Coffey.

Vale Steve Richards

Trainer Peter Moody said it was an honour to win the Vale Steve Richards (1400m).

Richards was a long time Flemington-based trainer before his sudden passing last month the result of head injuries following a fall.

“I was never personal with Steve, but I always had great respect for him as a horseman and a trainer,” Moody said after Roadcone’s success.

“He was always polite and if you needed a hand, he was always there and would put his hand up.

“I said on the podcast during the week that you would always like to win a race named after such a fine person.

“We’re thinking of family and friends, and he will be sadly missed.”

Moody said Roadcone’s victory was one of tenacity after the gelding bungled the start slightly.

“We were worried about the wet, and our intention was to lead on him or be right on the pace, but he jibbed the start, but Luke (Cartwright) gave him a good ride after that,” Moody said.

“He showed good tenacity in the last little bit after he was going to run a nice third halfway down the straight.”

Ghetto Supastar goes back-to-back

Trainer Mick Shepherdson spent many a year at Flemington as a foreman for Tony McEvoy and it was only fitting that his first Melbourne winner came at his former home track.

The now Geelong based horseman produced Ghetto Supastar to win at headquarters on May 16 and the six-year-old was back in the winners’ enclosure courtesy of his win in the Flemington Community Plate (2000m).

“We got good confidence from his win last start here,” Shepherdson said.

“He’s a big horse, he likes Flemington and I know it’s a benchmark 100 by name, but he gets in well on the minimum.

“He enjoys the trip where he can flow and finish off.

“Neil (Farley) has really clicked with him, and I think getting on the big, flat track, he can go through his gears.”

Shepherdson said he may need to reassess plans having initially considered giving Ghetto Supastar a break before his latest Flemington success.

Lightly raced filly a Rockette

The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr stable was unsure how Rockette would handle the heavy conditions, but the daughter of So You Think had no trouble in running out an easy winner in the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour Trophy (2000m).

Stable spokesman Tom Sheehan said the plan was for Lachie Neindorf to ride the filly quietly to see if she would get through the wet conditions.

“There’s a lovely 600-metre straight to wind up and she really tracked into that very well and I did see she pricked her ears when she hit the front,” Sheehan said.

“So, she’s quite a raw product with lots to work with.”

Rockette was having only her third race start and Sheehan said how the filly recovers from the win would determine whether she returns to Flemington in a fortnight.

“Sometimes it’s best to keep a nice three-year-old going as it only gets harder as a four-year-old,” Sheehan said.

“There is an identical race here in two weeks’ time. We’ll get Lachie’s thoughts and see how she comes through it.”