The Ciaron Maher stable appeared to hold a commanding presence in a Caulfield three-year-old contest, with the outsider of their two entries ultimately securing the win.
Maher’s team entered both the $2.40 favourite Decalogue and the $6.50 chance Ichnusa for the Sportsbet Feed Handicap (2000m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Decalogue’s chances were compromised by its tendency to race keenly, resulting in a fifth-place finish. Ichnusa, however, made a strong move down the outside to score by a half-length over Our Chief ($5), with Dirnaseer ($9) finishing a further three-quarters of a length adrift in third.
While the Maher team had anticipated a victory from Decalogue, Ichnusa’s win was not entirely unforeseen.
Ichnusa was undertaking only its second career race start, having previously won over 1600m at Seymour on its debut.
Jack Turnbull, National Assistant Trainer for Ciaron Maher Racing, revealed that the stable had been patient with Ichnusa, following the recommendation of part-owner and breeder Rick Jamieson.
“I thought he did a really good job as he travelled in patches,” Turnbull stated.
“The race was run at a farcical tempo. He was on the bit, he was off the bit, and he was running in and out.”
“He’s got such a big action and he’s such a talented horse and does it so easily.”
“His half-sister is Suntora which gets over a trip, and he is bred to get a mile-and-a-half and beyond.”
“Looking at genes, he’s a TT which suggests he’s going to be better for further development, and time.”
“When we were training him in his earlier stages, Rick was very keen for us to be patient and let him grow out, strengthen, and this is reward for that.”
Turnbull added that the stable would monitor Ichnusa’s recovery from Saturday’s race before deciding on its next outing.
Despite being disappointed with Decalogue’s finishing position, Turnbull considered the gelding’s performance to be satisfactory.
“He’s a bold travelling horse and when Jabez (Johnstone) wanted to come back and get cover, they were running trackwork times and that is not his go,” Turnbull remarked.
“It is disappointing the race was run like that and if he was able to get out and run his own race, I’m sure he would have run much better.”
“He’s tricky in that he needs things to go his way, he needs galloping room but needs to take a sit.”
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