Broadmeadow-based trainer Paul Perry celebrated a nice win in the Concorde Stakes 2014 today at Royal Randwick with consistent sprinter Wouldnt It Be Nice rewarding connections for their persistence.
Persistence paid off for 2014 Concorde Stakes winner Wouldnt It Be Nice at Moonee Valley. Photo: Steve Hart.
The Choisir four-year-old went out as a double figure chance in markets led by Target In Sight, the favourite never in genuine contention for the $125,000 Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m) after getting right back and being hard ridden a long way from home.
Wouldnt It Be Nice meanwhile was given a gun run off the pace by jockey Sam Clipperton who had the honest sprinter in the perfect position ready to run over the top of them in the closing stages.
A hot pace was set today by Joe Pride’s former star sprinter Rain Affair, firming trackside in the markets, who hit the lead but who isn’t known, in his current form, to finish off well.
It was the same story for All The Talk who settled second and was going stride for stride with Rain Affair right up until the top of the straight when the pacesetters started to fade under pressure.
That played perfectly into Clipperton and Wouldnt It Be Nice’s hand, the eventual winner with too much pace over the final 100m in the Concorde Stakes.
Pegging back his ears the horse was too good in the finish and held off a fast-finishing Nuclear Class, ridden by Kathy O’Hara, while Rain Affair managed to hold on for third in a photo for the final placing.
It was an excellent Concorde Stakes result for the Perry stable which have raced the horse throughout the entire winter right through to today’s feature race, spacing his runs and changing up the distances to keep the galloper fresh.
He’d been up as long as 1400m for a Winter Stakes sixth in black-type company but was too sharp over the 1000m here on a mud track after getting back and running on late in a sweet ride from Clipperton in a genuine speed.
“All preparation he’s been terrific,” Paul’s son Matthew Perry told TVN post-win.
“He’s always been around the mark.”
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2014 Concorde Stakes Results & Finishing Order
Randwick Race 6 – 06/09/2014
| Place | # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Br. | Wgt. | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | WOULDNT IT BE NICE | Paul Perry | Sam Clipperton | – | 5 | 56kg | $13 |
| 2 | 11 | NUCLEAR CLASS | Tas Morton | Ms Kathy O’Hara | 1L | 4 | 54kg | $41 |
| 3 | 3 | RAIN AFFAIR | Joseph Pride | Blake Shinn | 1.5L | 2 | 58kg | $3.60 |
| 4 | 7 | DIDNTCOSTALOT | Marc Conners | Jason Collett | 1.9L | 7 | 56kg | $6 |
| 5 | 4 | I’M ALL THE TALK | Gary Portelli | Brenton Avdulla | 2.9L | 1 | 58kg | $11 |
| 6 | 10 | ATMOSPHERICAL | David Pfieffer | Tim Clark | 3L | 8 | 55kg | $6 |
| 7 | 8 | TARGET IN SIGHT | Joseph Pride | Jim Cassidy | 3.2L | 6 | 56kg | $3.10F |
| 8 | 5 | AUSSIES LOVE SPORT | Gai Waterhouse | Joshua Parr | 8.9L | 3 | 58kg | $21 |
| – | 1 | SESSIONS | John O’Shea | James McDonald | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 2 | SAFEGUARD | John O’Shea | Kerrin McEvoy | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 6 | WHITTINGTON | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | – | 0 | – | – |
