The Ciaron Maher-trained Tennessee Bound has continued its impressive winning sequence with a gritty victory at Caulfield.
Tennessee Bound has now won six races on the trot following its success in the Sportsbet Caulfield Cup Carnival Hospitality Handicap (1100m) on Saturday, although the win came after some early race-day drama.
The Written Tycoon filly stumbled as the gates sprang open, and it took apprentice jockey Jabez Johnstone a few strides to settle her.
“It wasn’t smooth sailing, that’s for sure,” Johnstone said.
“She stepped awkward and had a bit of a trip but recovered well.
“I was under pressure coming into the straight and for that reason she did lay-out marginally, but for a horse to win six in a row, it’s a pretty fair effort.”
Sent off at the prohibitive $1.45 odds, Tennessee Bound held off a determined Behaviour ($11) by a short head, with Luna Cat ($5.50) a further two lengths back in third.
Trainer Maher indicated he plans to continue a measured campaign with Tennessee Bound, suggesting he would likely seek another handicap race in the coming weeks.
Saturday’s win was at Benchmark 84 level.
“We’ve been patient with her,” Maher stated.
“She had a three-month break before this preparation, and I think that really helped her.
“I thought she stripped pretty well today, and I think the claim for Jabez definitely helped and getting close to the line, it got a bit interesting, but all she can do is win, so we can’t be too hard on her.
“We’ll see how she comes up, she’s progressive and keeps winning and it certainly gets tougher every time she steps out.
“However, she handles the track, so we’ll raise the bar again, but we won’t get too carried away and look for ratings races.
“She’ll probably jump up four or five points, so we’ll continue to use Jabez’s claim.”
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