Melbourne Spring Odds: Lankan Rupee Wins Thriller
October 29th, 2014 by Pom de TurfCraig Newitt, the jockey who was on board Lankan Rupee in the 2014 Manikato Stakes last week, was under some real pressure going into the race: Lankan Rupee had turned in a brace of sub-par performances to this point in the Melbourne Spring, and he was losing ground in the Racing odds for the race. But the Manikato Stakes that we saw is a contender for the most thrilling of recent times, let alone of this Melbourne Spring, and it was Lankan Rupee who came home to silence the critics and score the win.
It was a gutsy ride from both horse and rider that saw Lankan Rupee to victory, but it was an incredibly close-run thing, with more than a half-dozen horses all within a length of each other as they crossed the line. Lankan Rupee led the way from start to finish, holding off strong challenges from Terravista, Buffering, Rebel Dane, Temple of Boom and others, and Hewitt was understandably ecstatic when he spoke to the press after the race: ‘he is just a rocket this horse out of the machines and he grabbed the bit between his teeth. He didn’t really get a breather, but I dragged him around the corner and let him rail up. He was there to be run down late, but he was strong through. He is a little rocket and I love him because he bounces the gates and puts himself on the speed. If they are good enough to run him down good luck, but I’ve said all along that I just can’t wait to get him to Flemington and down the straight because I know he will improve out of sight. He was there to be beaten in the last 50 but he just found and found again. We had the plan to be right with Buffering, if I could cross him cross him, but if not sit inside him and make it a genuine 1200m rather than just sit off him like we did last time. I knew I was on the best horse, his work last Saturday was probably the best he’s ever worked. Between the 100 and the 50 I was worried but they just weren’t reeling him in quick as they did. He’s just got tremendous courage, a great will to win and he’s just too good.’
And that brave run is more than just another trophy for Lankan Rupee and his connections – it serves as a warning shot at Slade Power as these two incredibly talented horses head towards a confrontation. Make sure you’ve got all the Racing odds as we head towards the Sprint Classic on November 8th by following the link there: it’s shaping up to be a classic in more than just name…
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