Resounding pre-post favourite Big Money has produced an exceptional final straight sprint to win the Listed Ramornie Handicap (1200m) at Grafton’s Clarence Rive Jockey Club this afternoon ahead of a spirited Rocky King and Territory.
Big Money has won the 2014 Ramornie Handicap. Photo: Steve Hart
Jumping from the gates well, the Choisir gelding settled around four lengths off the pace of early leaders Rocky King, Under The Sun and Villamill, who set a noticeably quick tempo over the back straight and rounding the bend.
Pushing out from the barriers at the ideal moment, Big Money found a clear racing line between his rivals; pushing up to Rocky King and racing neck and neck with the outside chance before pulling clear 100 metres from the line.
Trainer Rod Northam was understandably pleased with Big Money’s performance in the 2014 Ramornie Handicap, confirming the four-year-old will now return to the spelling paddock and return for late sprint events during the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne.
“He better not retire, or I’ll have to retire as well,” Northam said with a laugh following the 2014 Ramornie Handicap.
“He’s just a real little trier; loves winning and that’s what gets him where he is.
“He jumped very well and there was nice speed on but it wasn’t crazy speed and he travelled up nicely and put it away, it was great.
“Straight to the paddock now, we’ll look at late spring in Melbourne. We’ll see how he’s going but probably the lesser sprint races and we’ll just see how he goes and if he keeps winning we’ll take on the big guns.”
Veteran jockey Robert Thompson delivered a perfectly timed ride on Big Money in the 2014 Ramornie Handicap and was thrilled to deliver Northam today’s feature.
“Rod and I have been together for a long time now, a great association and it’s great to win this race for him.
“I knew I was going to be a little bit closer when I was going to the gates because he was right on the chew today.
“Always happy in the run and once he saw a bit of a split I just said ‘come on mate’, and away he went.
“He’s improving all the time and he’s only a young horse, very lightly races, well looked-after and could go on a bit.”
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2014 Ramornie Handicap Results
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | BIG MONEY | Rodney Northam | Robert Thompson | – | 1 | 56kg | $2.20F |
| 2 | 6 | ROCKY KING | Tom Bourke | Tegan Harrison (a) | 0.8L | 9 | 56kg | $14 |
| 3 | 4 | TERRITORY | Jarrod Austin | Tye Angland | 2.1L | 12 | 56.5kg | $7.50 |
| 4 | 1 | HIDDEN WARRIOR | Gordon Yorke | Kody Nestor | 3.1L | 2 | 59kg | $13 |
| 5 | 7 | STARTSMEUP | Bruce W Hill | Paul Hammersley | 3.4L | 6 | 54.5kg | $10 |
| 6 | 10 | VILLAMILL | Peter Ball | Matthew Paget | 3.8L | 11 | 54kg | $31 |
| 7 | 2 | TESTARHYTHM | Benjamin Smith | Tim Clark | 4.4L | 3 | 58kg | $5.50 |
| 8 | 13 | CHEVAL DU FEU | David Kelly | Glenn Lynch | 5L | 10 | 54kg | $26 |
| 9 | 8 | LIESELE | Liam Birchley | Glen Colless | 5.7L | 8 | 54kg | $21 |
| 10 | 12 | BANDIT QUEEN | Mark Lynch | Matthew Bennett | 7.6L | 4 | 54kg | $101 |
| 11 | 3 | UNDER THE SUN (NZ) | Gai Waterhouse | Paul King | 8L | 5 | 58kg | $17 |
| 12 | 11 | JET STYLE | Sue Grills | Andrew Gibbons | 10.1L | 7 | 54kg | $151 |
