Horse Racing

VICTORIAN CAUSES UPSET

On Sunday in-form Volksraad mare Velocitea claimed her maiden Group 1 win when she beat home a classy field of rivals in the $300,000 Goodwood (1200m) at Morphettville.

Four-year-old Victorian-based Velocitea ($7) caused an upset when she managed to hold off the odds-on favourite and local Morphettville hero Catapulted ($2.60) by a long neck, while Very Discreet ($13) finished third.

Trained by Mick Price, Velocitea was coming off a frustratingly close second to Rostova in the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m), but showed her superior skill on Sunday as Rostova finished seventh.

By the home turn the Mark Kavanagh-trained favourite Catapulted was in front leading the way after spearing across the field from his wide barrier 12 draw. On the straight he looked certain of an all-the-way win, as jockey Simon Price extended his lead up to two lengths with 200m to go, but Velocitea came up on the inside after a lucky run on the rails for Craig Newitt to snare a surprise victory inside the final 60m.

The victory gave Mick Price his second Goodwood success after winning previously with another rail runner, Perfectly Ready, in 2006.

Velocitea has now won seven of her 18 starts for over $550,000 in prizemoney, with Price now looking towards the enticing Brisbane winter carnival races for his star mare where she would be likely to face off against Catapulted again, also on his way up to Queensland.

It was an action packed meeting at Morphettville on Sunday, with the other major drawcard being the $300,000 Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) where the Peter Snowden-trained Kidnapped claimed a close victory ahead of Red Colossus.

Other great Morphettville Races on the day included the $200,000 Group 3 RA Lee Stakes (1600m) and the $100,000 Group 3 Auraria Stakes (1800m), where Fairy Oak secured a win for trainer Peter Moody.

2010 The Distinctive Homes Goodwood Results