Aloha is the 2011 Coolmore Classic Winner
A well-bred daughter of Encosta De Lago, Mick Price’s four-year-old Aloha gave winning jockey Glen Boss his second elite level win at the meet after saluting on $101 roughie Zavite in the 2011 Ranvet Stakes earlier.
Aloha bolted out of the barriers before Boss settled her well, allowing a number of rivals to go past and set the pace and in doing so take the brunt of the rain in their faces.
Gai Waterhouse’s Montana Flyer hit the lead early with stablemate More Strawberries rolling up the outside to settle into second.
Given the run of the race settling fourth on the outside, Aloha launched her assault on the tiering frontrunners as they came down the home straight.
Outclassing the field, with 200m left to travel Aloha dashed to the lead and raced away seemingly unaffected by the dismal conditions.
On the line it was Aloha ($7) an easy 2 ½ lengths ahead of a game Jersey Lily, Les Bridge’s five-year-old trying hard but just under-par today.
In a thrilling photo-finish for third, dual Group 1 winner Melito was found to narrowly get in ahead of Happy Hippy.
It was a big effort for the Gerald Ryan-trained Melito who did well to finish in the money carting the 59.5kg topweight.
Happy Hippy was also an eye-catcher, flying down the outside to finish fourth for trainer John Thompson.
More Strawberries was the disappointment of the race, wearing blinkers for the first time she overraced early and eventually faded to finish last.
On the wet track, the Gerry Harvey-owned Aloha dug deep and came good in the end adding to her value as a future broodmare.
She has now won eight of her 17 career starts including her last five consecutively, today’s Group 1 victory boosting Aloha’s total earnings to over $760,000 in prize money.
Punters that backed Aloha at Luxbet enjoyed the best odds and biggest winning payouts so make sure you get your next Rosehill betting selections at a better price by heading to Luxbet now.
Coolmore Classic 2011 Results
| Pos | Horse | Margin | Price | Barrier | Benchmark | Weight | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 7.ALOHA | $6.00EF | 9 | 102.00 | 53 | Glen Boss | Mick Price | |
| 02 | 8.JERSEY LILY | 2.5 | $7.50 | 5 | 101.00 | 52.5 | Tim Clark | Les Bridge |
| 03 | 1.MELITO | 2.7 | $15.00 | 10 | 115.00 | 59.5 | Hugh Bowman | Gerald Ryan |
| 04 | 15.HAPPY HIPPY | 2.8 | $26.00 | 11 | 93.00 | 52 | Nathan Berry (a) | John P Thompson |
| 05 | 6.NO EVIDENCE NEEDED | 3.1 | $8.50 | 8 | 104.00 | 54 | James Winks | John P Thompson |
| 06 | 9.MONTANA FLYER | 3.8 | $18.00 | 12 | 101.00 | 52.5 | Tommy Berry (a) | Gai Waterhouse |
| 07 | 3.PALACIO DE CRISTAL | 4 | $15.00 | 1 | 105.00 | 54.5 | Brenton Avdulla | Grahame Begg |
| 08 | 12.HIDDEN WONDER | 4.6 | $61.00 | 2 | 97.00 | 52 | Daniel Ganderton | Kris Lees |
| 09 | 16.WARPATH | 5.9 | $8.00 | 3 | 92.00 | 52 | Christian Reith | John O’Shea |
| 10 | 11.STRAWBERRY FIELD | 6.3 | $41.00 | 13 | 98.00 | 52 | Craig Williams | Gerald Ryan |
| 11 | 17.TURNSTILES (NZ) | 8 | $15.00 | 14 | 86.00 | 52 | Rod Quinn | Anthony Cummings |
| 12 | 14.MISS GAI FLYER | 10.2 | $21.00 | 7 | 94.00 | 52 | Luke Nolen | Peter G Moody |
| 13 | 13.LOVEMELIKEAROCK | 12.5 | $18.00 | 6 | 96.00 | 52 | Corey Brown | Anthony Cummings |
| 14 | 4.GRACEFUL ANNA | 12.9 | $6.00EF | 4 | 104.00 | 54 | Damien Oliver | David Pfieffer |
| 15 | 10.MORE STRAWBERRIES | 15.1 | $8.00 | 15 | 98.00 | 52 | Jim Cassidy | Gai Waterhouse |
| SC | 2.PURPLE | NA | 107.00 | 55.5 | Kerrin McEvoy | Peter Snowden | ||
| SC | 5.LADY LYNETTE | NA | 104.00 | 54 | Michael Rodd | David & Scott Brunton |
