A midweek track gallop at Flemington served as the catalyst for trainer Nick Ryan’s decision to debut Doubt Time at Caulfield.
The Ryan stable certainly backed their judgment, with the two-year-old gelding firming dramatically from $31 to $8 before securing a last-stride victory in the Stow Robotics Handicap (1100m) on Saturday.
Guided by apprentice jockey Luke Cartwright, Doubt Time snatched victory by a nose from the $3.50 favourite Resolutely, with Stakes ($5) finishing a further 1-¾ lengths adrift.
The son of dual Stakes winner Doubtland, who has since retired to stud, was ridden patiently by Cartwright before launching a powerful late surge.
“He’s very much like his father,” Ryan commented. “His father won his first start on a Soft 7 at Kensington, and he came from back and swamped them.”
“We trialled here last week, and then I galloped him on Thursday morning on the inside grass at Flemington. I pushed the button a little bit in the last 50 (metres) and I nearly fell off the back of him. The penny has finally dropped, and I said to Luke to keep him in your hands, bounce, squeeze, travel, and if you’re a bit back, don’t panic.”
“He’s got an 8.05 metre stride on the data, and he’s not fully developed and I said it’s very important for you to get room to the outside. He’s never had one with the whip, and when you shake him up, he’s going to launch, whether that’s running home to finish fourth or fifth, or winning, I had a feeling of what he was going to do.”
Ryan indicated that he would not rush Doubt Time back to the races, favouring a spell for the promising gelding.
“He’s two, so we’ll have to see how he is in the morning, how his shins are,” Ryan stated. “He’ll definitely be in the paddock next week, for how long, I don’t know. He’s had three jump-outs and two trials, and he had come here (Caulfield) twice. I did dual accept for Wodonga on Sunday, but we were always coming here, so we’ll see how he pulls up, but that was pretty impressive.”
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