Happy Owners

It was an exciting weekend of racing for two very happy groups of owners. Stakes-placed Excess Funds began his first campaign since being gelded with a confidence-boosting victory at Flemington on Sunday. Rebel Racer did everything wrong, but raw potential got him over the line for his maiden win at The Valley on Friday night.  

Trained by Levi Kavanagh, Excess Funds was placed in the Listed Lightning Stakes in Adelaide as a late-season two-year-old last year. He was tried again at stakes level during the Melbourne spring without success and the decision was made to geld him.

Excess Funds resumed in Sunday’s Tick Homes Plate (1000m) on the Rapid Racing program and the $2.10 favourite scored a long-head win over Danehill Stakes placegetter Express Pass.

Levi believes Excess Funds will get back to stakes level but first will be aimed at the $500,000 Inglis Dash (1100m) at Caulfield in mid-March via Moonee Valley on January 28.

“He’s more mature from his three-year-old spring campaign and better behaved as well,” Levi said.

“He was doing enough to show me that he was up to running in those races in the spring. He was a colt too so you’ve got to head to those races heading into the Coolmore Stud Stakes if you want to make a colt.

“He just wasn’t really putting in and doing on race day what he was showing us at home. So we had to come to a decision and geld him. And now he can keep his mind on the job and he’s not doing silly things wrong in the running.”

The meeting featured a jockeys’ challenge with country jockeys and metropolitan jockeys and Excess Funds was ridden by Jason Maskiell who was part of the country team.

Rebel Racer jumped as a $2 favourite in the opener at Moonee Valley on Friday night, but with 400m to run, his odds had ballooned out to $201.

The Mark Kavanagh-trained gelding, endured a tough run in the 1600m maiden, travelling three-wide without cover in the seven-horse field. Jockey Craig Williams was hard at work on Rebel Racer well before the home turn, with the favourite dropping back to fourth and seemingly under heavy pressure. Upon straightening, Rebel Racer knuckled down to pick himself up off the canvas. The favourite loomed up alongside Prophecies at the 50m before pulling away late to score by three-quarters of a length.

Although he didn’t handle the track Mark believes the son of Rebel Raider has a very bright future.

“I thought he was going to get beat, he didn’t handle the track, he got a pretty good look at it. He wasn’t going to get pocketed in on the fence that’s for sure, said Mark.

“He is a big gangly horse as we have seen tonight and he has a very very bright future and I’m glad that we found out that he needs a bigger looser track tonight in maiden company, rather than coming here in a better race and not getting it right.

“I think the best is yet to come. Right now, he is thriving in work, normally in their first prep I give them a limited amount of runs and look to the future. But this horse needs some more education, I’ll see (how he pulls up and) whether we ease up on him up or keep going on with him.”

We head to Sandown tomorrow with four very promising runners, Antagoniser, Big Brew, Helmaz and last start winner Ellis Park.