Sea Riding savouring northern swing

By Isaac Murphy

Townsville holds fond memories for Brett Hazelgrove, who won last year’s Cup with Quara’s Flick.

The bitch had no such luck this year, but the trip was still well worth it, giving the trainer a working holiday while he watched enigmatic chaser Sea Riding re-capture some of her best form that has her primed for next Monday’s Bundaberg Oaks heats.

“I sent her up to Townsville early last month, she was just getting a bit stale in Brisbane and I was bringing Quara’s Flick up for the Cup, so the planets just aligned,” Hazelgrove said.

“She won her first start over the 380-metre sprint, struggled a bit from the 498-metre corner start, ran a luckless third over the staying trip in the Distance Championship on Cup night and won again over the sprint her last run on Tuesday.

“I think it’s freshened her up nicely, the 3380-metre start was ideal; there’s a big long straight where she can build momentum and slingshot off the corner to the winning post, she should go into the Oaks with a bit of swagger about her again.”

Sea Riding steps back up to a more familiar distance in the Oaks heats, and Hazelgrove is optimistic the 550-metre circuit is a match for her racing style.

“I think the 550 metres will really suit her at Bundaberg, she’s had two starts there and never drawn a box but coming up with the two for the heat is a huge bonus,” he said.

“It’s all about momentum with her, if she gets an unimpeded run then she’s like a steam roller.

“She can run all day, I wouldn’t say she’s a genuine 700-metre bitch but she’s not far off, the 550 looks ideal.

“The perfect outcome would be to drop on the rail behind Sesqui who’ll have her for pace early but she’ll just stick to the fence and if she’s not winning late I’d be mighty surprised not to see her qualify for the final.”

One-paced but with a huge engine and railing ability, the Bundaberg straight and a moderate field should all be in her favour.

“Bundaberg looks a really good track for her, a nice long straight to start and she doesn’t have any real speed that’ll be crashing down on her from out wide,” Hazelgrove said.

“I think we’ve probably been lucky in drawing the easier of the two heats, nothing is guaranteed but she’s beaten dogs like Naturally Gifted and Boscono before who look the main dangers.

“The other heat looks fairly hot with It’s A Glance for Justin Bowe, Shilo for Brent Kline and Elegant Eleanor for Ricky Hassall who are all serious chasers and we’ll need to draw one, two or three if we want to match it with them in the final.”

Hazelgrove admitted he almost came close to sacking Sea Riding after a run of outs from unsuitable boxes, but whenever she got it her own way there was just too much ability to let go.

“She’s a tough dog to place because she’s not quick early and wants the fence, which has probably made her a little underrated as well,” he said.

“All of her bad performances have come from middle or wide draws, whereas she’s been ultra-consistent from the inside boxes.

“While it can be frustrating relying on box draws, what she’s done in her career is pretty remarkable; winning her maiden over the 331 metres at Albion Park and being placed over the 700 metres there too, there’s not many with that claim.

“After she finishes off up at Bundaberg here we’ll come back to Brisbane and concentrate on the 600 metres, I’ve worked out that’s her pet distance and with some low draws I think she can run sub-35 seconds around there.”