No Quokkas: Matt Hoysted unfazed about Uncommon James drift after barrier debacle

The Brisbane-based co-trainer reckons his gun sprinter will put himself into the race, just as he did in his Oakleigh Plate blitz earlier this year.

Oakleigh Plate winner Uncommon James will jump from barrier 13 of 14 on Saturday. Picture: Vince Caligiuri—Getty Images.

The barriers went from bad to worse for Uncommon James in the botched barrier draw for The Quokka on Tuesday, but there were none less fazed about it than co-trainer Matt Hoysted.

The Group 1 Oakleigh Plate winner has been the big drifter in betting for the $4m Perth slot race after copping barrier 13, but Hoysted, who trains in partnership with Steve O’Dea, said their stable star has the tactical nous to put himself into a position quickly.

The sprint weapon ironically jumped from barrier 13 in the Oakleigh Plate in February, but such is his barrier speed, jockey Ben Thompson had him parked one-off the fence in the space of a furlong.

“To be honest, nothing really changed,” a frank Hoysted said regarding the barrier draw.

“Walking the track, it looks as if barriers aren’t that important from the chute because it is about a 600m run until the bend, so there is plenty of time to find a position.

“There is no doubt we would have preferred to draw soft, but he has good tactical speed which he showed in the Oakleigh Plate.”

Running in the Mt Hallowell Stud slot, Uncommon James has drifted from $3.80 to $6 with TAB in a matter of days, while punters have honed in on the likes of Bella Nipotina and Overpass.

Hoysted admits he has a “tiny reservation” about the travel Uncommon James has put in during his campaign, but says there is nothing to suggest he won’t perform at his best on Saturday.

Uncommon James and Bella Nipotina having their final gallops before the Quokka 🔥@cmaherracing@ODeaHoysted@[e-mail]/URNaQG7O9z

— Lochie Taylor (@lochietaylor_) April 10, 2023

“It has been a busy campaign for him, he copes with travel well but this is the fourth environment he has had to settle into, everything points to him being right we won’t know until we really ask him to come off the bridle,” he said.

“It’s only his fourth run but he has had to go to all these places, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and now settling into Perth, at least we have had the time to do it.

“There is the voice in the back of your head questioning if we are asking too much of him, but he is the right horse to be travelling like this.”

With glamour filly Amelia’s Jewel likely to be well behind Uncommon James on the bend, Hoysted said they could well give the local star her hardest task yet.

“The times she is running, there is no doubt she is a very, very good filly,” he said. “This is the last box she needs to tick really, doing it against these type of horses.

“Now at weight for age conditions and knowing the filly is probably going to be in the second half of the field, if we can jump and get across cheaply enough to dictate the race because it doesn’t look like anything is going to go crazy in front, it will make her job hard to run us down.”

Originally published as No Quokkas: Matt Hoysted unfazed about Uncommon James drift after barrier debacle