Jockey Jason Collett took the high road rather than the low road and it proved a winning move on Diamil in a roughhouse Summer Cup at Randwick on Monday.
Collett was quick to point out after watching the head-on footage of the race that there were a couple of rivals, in particular favourites Sky Lab and Lion’s Roar, that could be asking “what if” after a willing battle down the straight.
Jason Collett’s quick thinking was the difference as Diamil won the Summer Cup at Randwick on Monday. Credit:Getty
“I was going to follow the stablemate [Lion’s Roar] at the top of the straight, near the inside, but it looked like there wasn’t much room with so many horses there,” Collett said. “So I went to the outside and gee I was lucky I did.
“It probably won me the race because he was able to go through his gears and the others got into trouble.”
Diamil ($8) gave the John O’Shea stable the festive double after they won The Ingham with Kirwan’s Lane a couple of weeks ago – a race where Diamil found trouble in the straight.
But it’s punters who will be lamenting the hard luck stories in the Summer Cup.
Sky Lab and Lion’s Roar were set to make their winning claims together at the 300m about three horses off the fence, albeit in restricted room, when Berdibek swooped down the outside and ducked back in abruptly.
Berdibek’s movement affected several horses, and the two favourites lost their winning chances as they bounced off each other.
It could have been Diamil in the centre of the traffic jam but for the instinctive move by Collett at the top of the Randwick straight.
Collett had aimed up for an inside but changed his mind and took Diamil from just off the fence to 10 wide. He followed Berdibek into the race before collaring him in the final stages to win by a short neck.
“I was worried because it was his first time at 2000m and I thought he would be a little suspect,” Collett said. “He was because I was full out at the 100m mark.
“He did enough to win, but we were in the right spot.”
Berdibek ($26) lost his second place to Sky Lab ($4.80 fav) in the stewards’ room, which cost the O’Shea stable the quinella. The protest of Sky Lab’s jockey. Zac Lloyd, was upheld in record time as stewards adjudged the interference cost the favourite more than the half-head margin and probably winning the group 3.
Lion’s Roar ended up running fifth beaten two lengths.
Meanwhile, Hugh Bowman was able to spend Christmas at home with his family in Hong Kong despite being concussed in a bad fall at Sha Tin on Christmas Eve.
