Winning Horse: Corner Pocket (AUS)

4yoG Toronado (Ire) - Baize (Aus)(Commands (Aus))
7 starts - 5 wins 1 second 1 third $114108

Other Wins
1st Warrnambool Warrnambool Volkswagen (Bm70) 1400m (2021)
1st Ballarat Hygain Winners Choice (Bm70) 1200m (2021)
1st Moonee Valley Mvrc Corporate Membership (C1) 1200m (2020)
1st Hamilton Bet365 Odds Drift Protect. Mdn 1200m (2020)

Other Placings
3rd Ballarat Cervus Equipment Mdn Plate 1000m (2020)
2nd Ballarat Sam Miranda Mdn Plate 1000m (2020) (Debut Run)

Race Result:

1st: Corner Pocket (L Smith/D Bates) - $3.20F

2nd: Beehunter (J Sadler/D Oliver) - $6.50
3rd: Left Hand Man (J O’Connor/W Price) - $19

Winning Time: 1:23.69 Last 600m: N/A

Margins: 1¼L x ¾L

Winning Trainer: Lindsey Smith (rep by Shane Jackson)

“He’s a beautiful horse. I think everybody has a soft spot for this horse at home and when he won his maiden he won like this - he won by a length. Just does what he has to do but he was impressive from a bad bad gate.

“Declan (Bates) had to work across and he was never in doubt from the top of the straight.

“Lindsey puts these horses through the grades and doesn’t over-race them. If they’re ready for the paddock they’re ready for the paddock. He thinks of the bigger picture so I’m sure he has plans for this horse going forward. I’m not quite sure what it will be.

“The 1400 (metres), he just seems to love it. He’s got that good early speed but then he has the toughness late to fight them off.”

Winning Jockey: Declan Bates

Hard to get him off this horse now: “They’ll have to drag me off of him.”

On the run: “The speed was good enough but I didn’t have many options because he has good gate speed and I didn’t want to take that away from him. Even though we were drawn wide I was happy to let him begin and just roll forward early.

“If they had spread out and I was able to slot in I probably would have taken it. They were all a bit too compact so I was happy to roll with him and once we got there he had it easy enough. Everything went to plan from there.

“I could feel Beehunter coming. You know it’s Ollie coming because you can here him but my fella, I felt like he was waiting on them a bit halfway up the straight - he was on his own for a long way. But he’s so game. Once you get after him he just responds so well and he’s a legend of a horse.

“He’s a very easy horse to ride. Very casual, very push-button, so hopefully he can keep doing what he’s going and stepping up in grade and keep winning.

“I’d love to ride him a touch quieter as he steps up in grade because I’m convinced with a bit of cover he’s going to show a bit of a turn-of-foot. I think we could have that up our sleeve if he steps up in grade. But, if not, he has the option of being up on speed and making his own luck and the others have to be good enough to get him.”