Barrier positions played a crucial role in the Group 3 Standish Handicap (1200m) at Flemington as Disneck broke through for his maiden black-type success.
With barriers 11 and 12 filling the exacta in the 12-horse field, the result delivered a rough outcome for punters.
Sent out at $11 and ridden by Daniel Stackhouse, Disneck was ridden patiently before sweeping widest into the straight, accelerating sharply from the 200m to score by a length over Extratwo ($41), while Contemporary ($101) finished a long head away in third.
Favourite Hedged raced nearer the rail but failed to quicken and finished tenth, beaten 6¼ lengths.
Although Disneck’s previous best win had come in benchmark 94 company, the son of Trapeze Artist had shown promise earlier in the campaign when finishing fifth in the Group 3 Rising Fast Stakes (1200m), beaten only two lengths.
A below-par Hawkesbury trial leading into the race may have dampened confidence, but Stackhouse was happy to trust the stable.
“I spoke to the stable representative this morning and he said, ‘just ride him cold, give him his chance and just be patient,’” Stackhouse said.
“He’s got a great turn of foot. I wasn’t too concerned about his first-up trial.
“I thought he’s really good when he’s fresh, he’s ran really well down the straight and I thought back on top of the ground, we mapped right, being out wide, trained by Bjorn Baker.
“A lot of ticks there, so I was very confident going forward.”
Stackhouse said Disneck’s ability to relax early was key to the win.
“The plan was to get back obviously and follow Mark Zahra (aboard Aviatress, 4th),” Stackhouse said.
“I knew his horse would give us a good run into the race.
“He’s really effective when he’s ridden cold like that. He’s got a great turn of foot and you can see that he’s got there too early.
“He pricked his ears when he got there but he just was going so well and he just put himself into the race that quickly, but it was a nice win and that’s a good start to his preparation.”
Punters found value through major online bookmakers in the Standish Handicap, with the outside draws dominating the finish.
The post Disneck too slick in Standish Handicap first appeared on Just Horse Racing.
