PLANNING WORKS OUT
MELBOURNE Cup- winning owner John Richards has lauded Darren Weir’s planning after Parthesia ended a 10- run losing streak with emphatic victory in the Listed Bagot Handicap ( 2800m) yesterday.
Winless since claiming the Tasmanian Oaks last February, Parthesia had been set for the Bagot for months by Weir, using a mix of country tracks to lift her to peak levels.
The ploy paid off handsomely when Damian Lane produced a fittingly patient ride to overhaul Etah James and Ormito in an all- Ballarat finish at Flemington.
“Darren’s been working on this for I don’t know how many months,” Richards said.
“He’s got a wonderful cord with races he targets.”
Senior part- owner of 2015 Melbourne Cup winner Prince Of Penzance, Richards said part of the Parthesia’s success re- was Weir’s understanding the Raise A Flag stock.
Weir also produced impressive young stayer Civil Disobedience who, like Parthesia, is by Raise A Flag and was ridden to victory by Lane.
“It’s taken a long while for trainers to work out what they’re ( Raise A Flag progeny) capable of doing,” Richards said. “They’re dour stayers and once they get a bit of maturity and over a distance, they really come into their own.” of
Richards said the Launceston Cup next month was a possible goal for Parthesia, who has campaigned this preparation at Dunkeld and Penshurst.
“Probably the thought would be the Launceston Cup but we’ll see how she pulls up out of this and go from there,” Richards said.
Lane said Parthesia’s dour nature meant she was a onedimensional mount.
“Unfortunately she doesn’t have too much early speed but that’s just her and you’ve got to ride her that way,” he said.
“I knew she would be tough at the finish. She’s just a genuine stayer, a double for Raise The Flag today. They’re tough, they get over ground. That’s what she did.
“The race unfolded well. I just bided my time in the straight and when I got there she wandered a little bit. “She hadn’t been there ( in a winning position) for a while.”