Having navigated the straight beforehand has yielded significant returns, seeing Lindsay Park-trained fillies occupy positions one and two at Flemington.
In the Listed TAB We’re On (1000m) on Saturday, Gin Twist and La Gitana, handled by Ben, Will and J D Hayes, took the quinella post a joint 800m jump-out on the Flemington straight February 20.
Ben Hayes explained its value, given that stablemate Jacaranda ($3.20 favourite) was denied the same and placed fifth.
Gin Twist ($3.50) with Luke Currie riding won by 1-¾ lengths from La Gitana ($5), followed 2-¾ lengths later by The Troubleshooter ($17) in third.
“Two-year-olds are very hard,” Hayes said.
“They either get it wrong, which we saw with Jacaranda, who dropped the bit early and didn’t look comfortable, they don’t know how to get into a rhythm, whereas the other two were professional, they jumped, got into a rhythm and gave good kicks.
“It’s a bit of a guessing game when you’re running them and I say that to the owners, they either handle it or they won’t.
“We say don’t worry about that as they will improve out of sight. Having a look and seeing how they handle it is very important.”
Hayes noted the push from Coolmore Australia’s head Tom Magnier for a trifecta involving the Hayes fillies.
During peak yearling auction time, he aimed to showcase Home Affairs, who sired all three young horses.
“We had a bit of pressure on us,” Hayes said.
“Tom said to us, if we didn’t get the trifecta with the Home Affairs fillies, we would be in trouble.
“Sorry Tom, we only got the quinella, hopefully that’s OK.
“It was an impressive win. I got a bit worried as she got a bit hot in the mounting yard and got a bit worked up, but she jumped, she looked like she was comfortable the whole race and went to the line quite easily.”
Discussions within the stable will determine Gin Twist’s direction, with a possible Sydney trip for the Golden Slipper at Rosehill not discounted next month.
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