Gregor Mactaggart
BIGGER things lay in store for On The Tiles.
The promising four-year-old from the Peter Gelagotis stable registered his second straight Moe win in commanding fashion on Tuesday.
Sent out the $2.80 favourite, On The Tiles revelled in the soft conditions to take out the Ladbrokes Benchmark 58 Handicap (2075m) by a comfortable six-length margin in a performance that delighted Gelagotis.
“That got the hairs on the back of the neck standing up,” Gelagotis said post-race.
“He trucked up into the race nicely and was going to win a long way from home.
“He couldn’t have been more impressive today, I don’t know where he’s going to end up … but he’s above average.”
On The Tiles is a son of Reset, who won two Group 1 races including a Caulfield Guineas during his unbeaten five-start career, out of the mare Sea Terrace, a daughter of Authorized.
Gelagotis said a key gear change had turned his fortunes around in recent starts after placing once in his first four starts.
“He’s gone from boiled lollies to chocolates with the ear muffs on, he’s a great advertisement for what a gear change can do for a horse,” he said.
On The Tiles was the most dominant winner on the Moe card, but not the only one trained at the track and ridden by the in-form Maskiell.
John Pascoe appears to have an emerging talent in Red On Red.
A son of Magnus out of Yasey San, the bonny mare previously trained by Pascoe, Red On Red showed rapid improvement on his Sale debut effort to win the Blackshaw Racing Class 1 Handicap (1211m).
Red On Red stepped up in trip and grade, but handled both with aplomb as he outgunned Address Melbourne by two lengths.
The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace stable’s winning knack at Moe continued when Desert Dreamer took out the Moe Denture Clinic Benchmark 58 Handicap (1619m).
Desert Dreamer ($5 eqfav) benefited from the claim of apprentice jockey Matthew Cartwright to hold off Lenny Xuereb’s Without Excuse by a length and three quarters.
The son of Dream Ahead has now won three of his eight starts, with the Moe victory joining previous successes at Murtoa and Echuca.
Chris Hyland’s bargain buy Karakoram scored his first win since December 2017 in the Solomons Moe Benchmark 58 Handicap (2431m).
The six-year-old went into Tuesday’s race with a record of one win from 37 starts, but displayed plenty of tenacity when it mattered to overhaul Onset by a length and a quarter under the urgings of jockey Teo Nugent.
Hyland, who prepares a small team at his Cranbourne base, said the son of High Chaparral was a stable favourite.
“We only paid $2000 for him and he came to me as a 53 rater,” he said.
“You need to run them out of their grade because he kept being balloted out of 58 races.
“Moe’s not really his track, he’s been unlucky two or three times previously at Moe, but he did the job today.”
Hyland forecast a possible jumping career for Karakoram down the track.
