HORSE RACING

MATT Laurie looks to have another talented son of Toronado in his stable.

The three-year-old gelding Chartres looked to be struggling in the very heavy conditions at Cranbourne on Saturday 13 November but clicked into gear in the straight to race away and win the three-year-old contest by over three lengths.

Mornington-based trainer Matt Laurie said there were worrying signs early with jockey Michael Dee having to urge the gelding along at the rear of the field. 

“It didn’t look that promising early but he just kept building into it and he was fantastic in the end,” Laurie said.

Donning the same silks as his talented former stablemate Prince of Success (Toronado/Il Diamante) who was sold to Hong Kong for over $1.5million, Chartres too looks like he’ll be targeted towards the rich VOBIS races.

“He’s a pretty laid back character,” Laurie said. “He’s a bit of a hard horse to get a guide on so I think it’ll just be a matter of racing him and see where he gets to.

“We were sort of thinking about going to Ballarat next week for another VOBIS Gold opportunity but it might be a big ask to front up after running today on such a heavy track.”

Despite the overcast weather, Laurie was thrilled to also see people back out at the races for Cranbourne Cup day.

“It’s just good to get out and see people to be honest,” he said. “We’ve all (racing participants) been out at these meetings for a long time now with no one to chat to so it’s good to see people back at the races.”

First published in the Mornington News – 16 November 2021