General News
11 February, 2022
Daffy galloper triumphs at Ararat
LOCAL trainer Denis Daffy’s quest for an answer for a poor performance from his gelding Fabian’s Spirit turned up a surprising, yet much-hoped for result last Sunday.
LOCAL trainer Denis Daffy’s quest for an answer for a poor performance from his gelding Fabian’s Spirit turned up a surprising, yet much-hoped for result last Sunday.
The six year-old gelding recorded the sixth win of its career at Ararat just a week after a disappointing run at Hamilton left the Camperdown horseman scratching his head.
The son of Bel Esprit was sent out as a $4.60 favourite for the Hamilton race but failed to fire as it finished ninth on a heavy track.
Subsequent vet checks failed to reveal any issues, with Daffy opting to press on with the horse’s campaign in a 1300 metre benchmark 58 handicap at Ararat.
It proved a wise move, with Fabian’s Spirit scoring a 1.2 length victory over Mighty Feat and Cracking Night under the guidance of experienced jockey Jack Hill.
“We felt he could go very close to winning at Hamilton, but with the track he got out the back and couldn’t make any ground so he had no excuses,” Daffy said.
“We had the vets check him over and then our local vet checked him again and we couldn’t find anything so I thought after that race we’d keep going.
“We gave him a bit of a freshen up and decided to run him (at Ararat) and all the time he was in the mounting yard he was prancing around and carrying on.
“We were pretty confident that if he could run up to his best, he’d be a good each-way chance and as it turned out, he was.”
Daffy, who thanked owners Cliff Justine and Harriet Place for their support, will continue with Fabian’s Spirit’s preparation this week.
“We’re going to keep going with him,” he said.
“He’s had pretty ordinary feet over the years so we’re going to try and keep him around the stable.
“He pulled up well after Sunday so we’ll run him over 1200 metres at Colac on Friday.”
The race will be a sharp rise in class for Daffy’s stable star, with the benchmark 70 event boasting a quality field.
But Colac has been a happy-hunting ground for the galloper, with two of its three starts at the venue netting two placings.
“He’s run a second and a third there and should have won both times but he’s his own enemy,” Daffy said.
“He used to play up in the barriers and would be out last and probably both times he had no excuses.
“We’re hoping he should run alright but our only concern is it’s a 70 rater so we meet higher class horses.”