There were 10 seconds of joy followed by nearly three minutes of ''nervous wondering'' for Nick Olive after Capital Commander crossed the line at Randwick on Saturday.
The Canberra trainer thought his $61 longshot had saluted in the listed Nivison (1200 metres), only for a photo to give the race to Quidnunc by a nose, also at long odds ($20.30).
But even though he did not get the chocolates, Olive was still pleased with the run of Capital Commander, who led all the way until when it mattered most.
''When Capital Commander crossed the line, we thought she'd won, we started celebrating and had that euphoria of a win and then, obviously, she ran second,'' Olive told The Canberra Times yesterday.
''That was disappointing, but a great performance by the horse … They actually took a while to determine a winner, probably three minutes or something til they could come up with a number.
''Some of the owners backed Capital Commander to win a lot of money, so they just missed out on a very profitable day.''
It would have been the first black-type win for the daughter of Commands, whose major win was in the $200,000 Magic Millions Quality Handicap (1300 metres) at the Gold Coast in January.
Olive has his eye tentatively on Melbourne Cup day for Capital Commander's next run, in a group 3 mares race (1400 metres).
He is also considering taking Zaratone to Flemington on the same day as well, for the listed 1200-metre sprint.
The Zariz seven-year-old also led the listed Lightning Handicap (1100 metres) at Randwick on Saturday before finishing third, half a length behind Famous Seamus.
''I don't know exactly which day yet, but probably, maybe Melbourne Cup day … but I've got to look at the program and see what other races are around,'' Olive said. ''They'll go down there at some stage; I've just got to work out which is the most suitable race for both horses.''
He was excited about emerging prospect Nat King Cu, which will run at Canberra on Friday.
The King Cugat four-year-old has won his last three starts, and Olive was hopeful he will progress to the same level as Capital Commander and Zaratone.
''Nat King Cu is the horse that excites me the most … I think he's a real serious racehorse,'' he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment