In-form jockey Harry Coffey eyes back-to-back wins on Makram at Flemington
Harry Coffey is enjoying a run of big wins and is eager to continue his hot form in the Group 2 Blamey Stakes at Flemington.
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Group 1 jockey Harry Coffey wants to maintain momentum in March after February finished in a flurry of stakes winners.
Coffey surprised all-comers at Flemington a fortnight ago, winning on $151 outsider Makram, his mount in Saturday’s Group 2 Blamey Stakes, and then caused a minor upset aboard Queman in the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate last week.
Coffey won the Group 3 Launceston Cup last Wednesday with Ballarat-trained galloper Excelleration.
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“They come, you have runs, they’re good,” Coffey said.
“They come and they go but you got to make the most of them.
“You start getting offered rides in races because you’re having a good run, you got to choose the right ones, so hopefully it all works out.
“I’m probably a little bit fitter and healthier, which is allowing me to ride lighter than I normally do, you got to ride light if you want to ride in these good races.”
Coffey’s Oakleigh Plate success proved a popular result among racing fans, friends, family and peers given his well-documented health history with cystic fibrosis.
“I think people enjoy my story and that, because of my health, and it does get spoken about a lot, so they do appreciate maybe I do it a little bit tougher than most,” Coffey said.
“As I always say, ‘I’m used to that, I wouldn’t know any other way’, but it is a pretty awesome reception to come back to your peers and see them genuinely happy for you. It is nice to get so many nice messages and that.”
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Coffey has four rides at Flemington on Saturday including Makram for Lindsay Park.
“I don’t think he’ll be 150-1 again for a while, when they (trainers Ben, JD and Will Hayes) said they were going to the Blamey I thought that’s the perfect race for him,” Coffey said.
Coffey won the Blamey last year aboard Noncomformist.
“They’re probably similar horses at her best,” Coffey said.
“I was really taken with his (Makram) win the other day, he was very unlucky and still won. Obviously a bit of talk about the second horse (Jimmysstar) but he still beat it.
“If he presents and goes similar again he should be thereabouts, and you’d probably think he improves (second-up), that’s what I’m thinking.”
Makram is $10 with TAB from Atishu ($4.20), Ayrton ($4.80) and Carini ($7).
The winner of the Blamey Stakes will get a wildcard into the $4m All-Star Mile at Caulfield on March 16.
Originally published as In-form jockey Harry Coffey eyes back-to-back wins on Makram at Flemington
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