A locally prepared horse, Always Enuff, has delivered a knockout blow to punters with a comfortable victory at Mornington.
The galloper, trained by Shane Nichols and Hayden Black, claimed the Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Handicap over 1000 metres on Saturday.
Ridden by Zac Spain, Always Enuff ($41) achieved a 1-¼ length win ahead of the $2.50 favourite, Tres Magnifique, with Saluted ($6.50) finishing a long neck behind in third.
Spain stated that he was essentially a ‘passenger’ on Always Enuff, mentioning that the mare towed him into the race as they approached the home turn.
“I couldn’t get in and I was three-wide,” Spain told Racing.com.
“They went quick early and then the tempo came out of the race, and she just started to tow me from the 500 (metres).”
“She loves this track, being trained here, and Shane has kept her mad fresh and with no weight on her back, I allowed her to flow, and she showed her good turn of foot that she normally shows.”
“There’s not much credit to me, I was basically a passenger today.”
Always Enuff has now won three times on the Mornington circuit, where Nichols and Black conduct their training.
Nichols noted that Always Enuff benefited from a weight reduction on Saturday, having carried 58kg for a first-up fourth at Bendigo and then 59.5kg when eighth at Caulfield on September 16.
“She was really good first-up then had no luck second-up when she got too far out of her ground with 59-½ kilos but worked up to the line good,” Nichols said.
“I felt she hadn’t gone backwards and this race we thought would be a good race for her.”
“She has won three times here now and down to 54 (kilos) she was able to make a strong run and she was quite impressive.”
“It was good for the group. They’ve been a bit patient with her, and the races have to be run to suit now, with a bit of sting out of the track, but it’s a nice pay day for her.”
Nichols confirmed that the 1000m journey is ideal for Always Enuff and that their next aim is to secure a suitable ‘Black Type’ race over that distance.
“We’ll probably try and hunt some ‘Black Type’ with her,” Nichols stated.
“She’s won $300,000 and she’s run fourth in a Stakes race, so we might try and target something down in the weights.”
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