HORSE RACING
MORNINGTON-based trainer Rachael Frost landed her first black-type race at Flemington on Saturday 12 September with her inform gelding, Travimyfriend.
The eight-year-old son of Tavistock had relished the wet tracks of late to pick up a win and second placing at Caulfield in his three prior runs, but demonstrated on Saturday that he’s not just a mudlark.
With the rain setting in later than expected at Flemington, Travimyfriend did what he had never done before and saluted on a good surface for the first time in his career.
Ridden by Dean Yendall, the gelding sat at the rear of the field before launching late in the straight to pick up the heavily-supported Western Australian visitor, Windstorm, and claim a three-quarters-of-a-length victory in the Listed The Sofitel Handicap (1400m).
Trainer Rachael Frost was glad to see Travimyfriend back-up his solid jumpout the week prior.
“He might’ve ran last the other day in a jumpout against Pippie but he worked through the line really good and it ticked him over nicely for this,” Frost said post-race.
“All of his stakes performances had been on good tracks, it’s only his wins that haven’t been. It was just as long as there was a bit of give in the ground today.
“He’s a neat old horse and it’s my first winner here so it’s great.”
Jockey Dean Yendall said it was a great effort by the gelding to overcome a couple of setbacks.
“It unfolded straight away when he got a fair old bump out of the barriers and he was back where I had never been on him before,” Yendalls said. “I just followed the race and they went at a really solid tempo and he actually travelled really nicely. He put the writing on the wall last time when he ran a good race up against Showmanship so I knew he wasn’t hopeless but I was just hoping this rain would come earlier so it would’ve been a genuine soft when he did go around, but he adapted to that.”
“He wanted to lay in a little bit under pressure with the whip in the left hand it helped him find the line straight and it probably got him the win. It was a great effort by him and a great effort for Rachael to get him to go again.”
The victory sent Travimyfriend’s prizemoney past the $450,000 mark and brought up his seventh career win from 50 starts.
First published in the Mornington News – 15 September 2020
