Wicked Intent’s happy feet help beat veterans at Doomben

THE VERDICT: CHRIS Munce heaped praise on farrier Gary Dagnell in the wake of Wicked Intent’s brave denial of older horses at Doomben on Saturday.

CHRIS Munce heaped praise on farrier Gary Dagnell in the wake of Wicked Intent’s brave denial of older horses at Doomben on Saturday.

Munce opted to send Wicked Intent, a one-time Magic Millions favourite, into battle against older horses in preference to carrying a big weight against his own age and the move paid dividends. Under a well-judged Matt McGillivray ride, Wicked Intent showed his customary speed and then courage when challenged strongly by Kudero inside the 200m point.

Munce revealed he has battled several “niggling problems” with the three-year-old.

“I have to give credit to Gary Dagnell. He has put in so much work on this horse’s feet and he’s done a fantastic job,” Munce said.

“What a relief,” trainer Chris Munce said. “He’s had a few niggling issues this horse, but this was the best I’ve had him going into a race since I started training him. The only worry was that he might be one gallop short, so he’s done a really good job.”

Wicked Intent became one of the few three-year-olds to beat older horses in Open company in Brisbane in recent years.

Very few 3yo’s take on older horses these days and outside of stakes races, Wicked Intent is the first member of his age group to win an Open company race in Brisbane since Ferment in July 2013.

THE VERDICT

QUEENSLAND horses haven’t given us a lot to shout about this carnival, but Golden Slipper winner Capitalist has plenty of maroon in him.

He was bred by Jan Clark’s Daandine Stud on the Darling Downs, which also bred the colt’s sire Written Tycoon.

Capitalist’s dam Kitalpha was bought by Craig Rounsefell’s Boomer Bloodstock for Clark in 2012 for $82,500. Capitalist’s win also continued the brilliant strike rate of Magic Millions graduates in the world’s richest race for juveniles.

In joining Phelan Ready and Dance Hero as horses to complete the MM-Slipper double, Capitalist became the 10th Slipper winner sold through the Gold Coast-based auction house in the past 17 years. By comparison, Sydney-based rival Inglis has sold three. The other four were home-breds.

Blake Shinn celebrates after Capitalist’s runaway win in the Golden Slipper. Picture: Jenny Evans

Please Explain: How could Deconstructed be readily available at around the $6 mark everywhere for a good 72 hours and still at that quote yesterday morning, but then open up at $2.80 on track? Whatever the reason, Doomben on-course bookies got the mail right and punters backed him as if the number was in the frame, sending him out at $2.30. But it wasn’t pretty viewing regardless of what price you took. “He’s not a horse that likes being cluttered among others,’’ jockey Damian Browne said. ‘‘He’s better when he can get into a rhythm away from horses. When we ran into that first jam, he just resented it.”

UPBEAT: Trainer Steve O’Dea thinks talented mare Beatniks is now ready to fully deliver on what her talent has long promised. “She had a chip taken out of her hind fetlock and she was always a mare that was a bit soft,” he said. “She’s a bit different now. I thought they might have been a bit sharp for her, so it’s good to see her come back so well. Hopefully she can be competitive in a carnival race for mares now.”

BIG HEART: Breeder and part-owner Tom Ware was worried Big Tree was going to set an unwanted record of most consecutive (five) seconds before he won the last. The Peter Balzen-trained Big Tree had earnt the title of Queensland’s unluckiest horse with his string of placings, mostly off bad barriers, but Brad Stewart reached into his bag of tricks to conjure some magic. “You always need a bit of luck and I thought the fast pace would be on the cards (to help get in off the gate) and fortunately it worked out,” Stewart said.

BIG ADDITION: David Van Dyke is going to be a welcome addition to the southeast Queensland training ranks next season. His effort to get Yankee Rose so close in a first-up Slipper tilt was the mark of a shrewd horseman.

LEAP OF FAITH: L’Entrecote had not won for 595 days and 18 runs, but punters pinned him as a good thing and came up trumps. Damian Browne said he was never really worried. “He’s not the sort of horse you want to get to the front too soon on,” Browne said.

Originally published as Wicked Intent’s happy feet help beat veterans at Doomben