It was always going to be a big task when Excellent Point was allocated 61kgs yesterday at Kembla Grange but boy did he put his best foot forward. There was never any doubt from us here at Dynamic that he could produce a good run under the weight. He did just that finishing 2nd beaten only a Neck in the class record time of 57.29 over the slick 1000m sprint distance.
Excellent Point only just went down at the ATC meeting at Kembla yesterday
Excellent Point lined up to run yesterday in the ATC transferred meeting at Kembla looking to back up his first up win at Newcastle. For his second up assignment, he was due to carry 59kg after the claim for budding apprentice jockey, Alysha Collett. The young kiwi rider gave Excellent Point a lovely ride in transit and loomed up to win but having to give the eventual winner 3kg told in the end. The effort was full of merit which left smiles on the face of the whole Dynamic Team as well as trainer and jockey who were very happy with the gelding’s performance.
Excellent Point jumped extremely well yesterday flying out of the gates and managing to comfortably get across from barrier five. He sat at the girth of the favourite and leader for much of the race before rounding the turn and letting down with his run. At one point you thought he was going to fly past the eventual winner Nash Rambler but as he went up and headed it, the big weight kicked in and Excellent Point started to drift off the track. Both our gelding and Nash Rambler had clearly gapped the rest of the field but with the 3kg weight difference, Excellent Point was headed again finishing 2nd beaten only a neck. It certainly was a determined and gutsy run.
What made the run even more impressive is the scintillating time that they ran the race in. The class record was smashed as they set the new time of 57.29 over the 1000m journey. The two leaders also rattled home in an extraordinary 32.43 for the last 600m. Excellent Point is still building up to his peak distance and for him to show such a good turn of foot over the short course leaves us in very good stead for future races.
Excellent Point has now won over $80,000 in prizemoney for his clients and looks to have his hoof right on the till. His early work this preparation gave trainer Darren Smith every indication that he was good enough to be winning in town and he is starting to live up to his impeccable breeding.
Darren Smith has done a wonderful job with this 6yo gelding since he arrived at his Newcastle based stables in late 2010. Despite having a lengthy layoff due to injury, Darren has managed to get him to the track for 11 starts of which he has won three and been placed a further three times. We anticipate the positive results to continue as Excellent Point has returned stronger than ever and looks to be enjoying his time on track. He has since pulled up well from yesterday’s performance and we are pleased to have him right back on track.
We wish the best of luck to all involved in Excellent Point going forward and for more news on how Excellent Point is progressing, stay tuned to the Dynamic website.
Jay Mathieson