Lock in Elliot Ness
After two unlucky placings, the Poly 1,100m record holder richly deserves his third win
The indications are there – Elliot Ness is due for a third success in 19 starts.
A sparingly raced horse who has yet to run a bad race and, more importantly, as the record holder for the Polytrack 1,100m (1min 3.65sec), the five-year-old richly deserves victory in Saturday’s $50,000 Class 4 event over the Poly 1,100m.
After all, he has shown in his last two outings that his next winning turn is just round the corner.
At his penultimate start on April 1, the Donna Logan-trained and Fortuna NZ Racing Stable-owned chestnut gelding beat all but Flying Nemo, who claimed his third victory from four starts.
Elliot Ness had to race wide without cover in that Poly 1,200m event and finished only a neck behind.
At his last start on April 23, he again had no luck when third to deadheaters Teardrops and Cosmic Dancer over the Poly 1,100m.
He had to be steadied and taken out near the 100m to avoid the heels of Teardrops.
He lost momentum when his rider stopped riding. The way he closed in on the deadheaters after balancing up was eye-catching.
Logan had capitalised on her apprentice jockey Jamil Sarwi’s 3kg claim on both occasions to bring the weight down to 49kg.
It was a wise move and it nearly paid dividends.
Only bad luck intervened. The runs were good.
Her No. 1 rookie, reigning champion Yusoff Fadzli, will take over the reins on Saturday and this could bring a change of luck.
It was Yusoff who rode Elliot Ness to his last win – over the Poly 1,100m with 55.5kg in Class 5 on July 9, 2022.
Vlad Duric was the one who steered the gelding to his course record-breaking victory in April 2021, when trained by Mark Walker. He shouldered 57kg then.
Elliot Ness is well in at 52kg on Saturday. But Yusoff cannot claim his 2kg allowance, as his current riding weight, after his recent fall, is 51.5kg. With his saddle, he may even ride ½kg over.
But his mount is oozing form and will be aided by Gate 2 in a winnable race.
He noted that Elliot Ness was unlucky at his last start.
“He should have won his last start. He’s a small horse and was expected to run well with the claim,” said the Penang-born rider, who has been doing light work on Elliot Ness during the week.
“But sometimes, this horse can be difficult to ride. In the straight, he can try to lay in, but Jamil rode him well that day and ran third.
“He felt nice after coming back from that race. His condition is still there.
“This week, he has a good draw. Hopefully, he can jump and sit where he is comfortable and, top of the straight, hope he can fire home.”
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