Censor Revels In Sandown Heavy
- Wednesday, 14 July 2010 07:46
The Lee Freedman stable produced a promising late season two-year-old in Censor who came to town for the first time and won impressively at the Sandown Hillside meeting.
A half-brother to Group Three Keith Nolan Classic winner Slapstick, Censor, a son of Elusive Quality, made a winning debut over 1218 metres in heavy going at Kyneton last month before again handling the heavy surface well in the Cecil Godby Hcp (1400m) on Wednesday.
Censor was Damien Oliver's only ride at the meeting after returning from England where he rode the unplaced Nicconi in the July Cup (1200m) won by Starspangledbanner at Newmarket last Saturday.
"I've been waking up at one o'clock in the morning since getting back from the UK. I'm still on their time," Oliver said.
Censor ($2.70) settled second and was taken to the centre of the track by Oliver in the straight and drew away to score by 2-1/4 lengths from Paranoid ($21) with Marked Danger ($8) a similar margin away third.
"I've said all along that he's a horse who has stepped under the radar and has kept stepping up to the mark," said Freedman's stable manager Sam Pritchard-Gordon.
"For a colt he's pretty relaxed and does everything right. He's dictated and pulled away nicely on the line.
"Lee's always been adamant that with Elusive Qualitys, you've just got to leave them alone and let them mature.
"He went into his first race fairly underdone and he's still underdone.
"He's a horse who comes alive when he gets to the racecourse."
Raced by Sheikh Mohammed, Censor's great grand-dam is the former great filly Emancipation, a six-time Group One winner and Horse of the Year, and he is from the same family as dual Group One winning filly Virage De Fortune.
"He's a lovely horse with nice ability and he handles the ground well," Oliver said of Censor.
"His mother (Red Ransom mare Glasnost) was a good wet tracker too. I rode her quite a bit and she's from a great family so he has a nice future."
The Peter Moody-trained filly Alotta Spur ($2.60 fav) finished fifth but was later found to have blood in both nostrils.
Moody said he thought she may have hit her head in the barrier and a determination has yet to be made whether she will be deemed a bleeder.
Later Moody struck with Sheedy who revelled in the downgraded heavy (10) ground to lead all the way for a seven-length victory in the Yangtze Hcp (1300m).
Moody instructed apprentice Taylor Lovelock-Wiggins to try to pinch the race by opening up a break in the early stages and the Exceed And Excel rising five-year-old did just that.
Pictures: Colin Bull
