It goes without saying that the connections of Serenade the Stars and Grey Lion were delighted on Saturday when their horses won at Flemington and Randwick respectively.
Both horses had inferior runs at their previous starts. Fortunately, the trainers of both wisely changed tactics and their horses duly performed.
Serenade the Stars had been disappointing in his last start two weeks prior at Sandown. At the midweek meeting, he finished midfield after looking to have every chance. Discussions between connections after the race focused on the horse’s unwillingness to stretch out when inside horses. It was agreed that in future races his jockey should be instructed to allow this promising four-year-old as much room as possible.
On Saturday at Flemington, the revised strategy worked wonders when Serenade the Stars was given every opportunity to stay off the fence and finish down the centre of the track. Unlike his Sandown effort, he stretched out beautifully to record strong sectionals over the last 800m of the race.
Since his first win in Bendigo earlier in the season, we have considered Serenade the Stars a promising young stayer, who had the talent to reach Country Cups standard. On Saturday, he confirmed for his owners that this is no pipe dream.
Grey Lion’s history in Australia has been a chequered one. After finishing a close second in the Geelong Cup after leaving quarantine, the stunning grey gelding has had his ups and downs. Like Serenade the Stars he ran below expectations only two weeks ago at Flemington, when having every chance, the horse failed to stretch out.
Again the connections looked at the reasons for the poor performance and agreed, that the firm Flemington track was the answer. This was confirmed the following morning when the horse showed signs of being jarred up. On Saturday the move to the more forgiving Randwick surface resulted in a welcome result.
Grey Lion will now remain in Sydney with his new trainer, Matt Smith. The six-year-old is more likely to find the racing surfaces more to his liking. It is also possible that the right-handed direction is more suitable to this fellow. Most of his successes in France were enjoyed racing that way.
Both the Cumani and Gelagotis camps can be very proud of their feats on Saturday. Both trainers realised that different strategies are needed for success.