IN FLIGHT’s devastating win at Gosford on Thursday could be the start of a huge weekend for Goodwood Farm.
The team not only bred the daughter of FLYING ARTIE but also our Doomben 10000 contender PRIVATE EYE, who will be partnered by Blake Shinn in Saturday’s $1.5million weight-for-age contest.
With form around SPRING LEE (favourite for the Denise’s Joy Stakes at Scone this Saturday) last preparation, IN FLIGHT looked the horse to beat in Thursday’s BM64 Handicap but her wide gate perturbed a few.
Our times analyst Nic Ashman made the point in his preview that being wide at Gosford should prove advantageous with the Trackwalker Info saying lanes 4 and beyond would provide the bulk of the winners.
“I think she can sit wide without cover and still win given what we are expecting here today,” Ashman said.
Jockey Reece Jones was buoyed by those comments and wasn’t fazed when COZY CORNER kicked clear down on the rail.
Jones came even wider in the straight and overhauled the leader to win by 1.5L with FLIGHTCREW and COZY CORNER filling the placings.
Race 8 – Buterin L’Estrange F&M Benchmark 64 Handicap 1100 metres
WINNER: IN FLIGHT
TRAINER: Joseph Pride
JOCKEY: Reece Jones pic.twitter.com/gPj77dmKTq— Gosford Race Club (@gosford_races) May 16, 2024
IN FLIGHT stopped the clock at 1.05:35, the fastest of four 1100m races on the day. The time was 4.1L faster than the class benchmark while she produced the fastest last 800m and 600m of the entire meeting.
“She bounced out well but was beaten for speed. Coming to the turn we got out to the better part of the track and she showed she was far too classy for them,” Jones said.
“She’s a progressive filly that is on the way up and this is the right time of year for her given the way she handled that wet track.”
The 3YO filly will be assessed by trainer Joe Pride before a decision is made where she heads to next but with a record that now reads 5:2-2-0, the early signs are promising.
We currently have shares remaining in another FLYING ARTIE, a colt out of ORDOS HONOR bred by China Horse Club, who have stayed in the ownership. The colt will be trained by the O’Dea/Hoysted stable in Brisbane and has taken all before him in his preliminary training at Kolora Lodge (watch video of him striding out HERE).
IN FLIGHT was Proven’s 39th winner for the season with prizemoney just shy of $15.4million.
