A local galloper, Always Enuff, delivered a knockout blow to punters with a convincing victory at Mornington.
The Shane Nichols and Hayden Black-trained runner took out the Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Handicap (1000m) on Saturday.
Ridden by Zac Spain, Always Enuff ($41) secured a 1-¼ length win over the $2.50 favourite, Tres Magnifique, with Saluted ($6.50) finishing a long neck back in third.
Spain indicated he was a ‘passenger’ on Always Enuff, explaining the mare pulled him into the lead when they approached the home turn.
“I couldn’t get in and I was three-wide,” Spain told Racing.com.
“They went quick early and then the tempo came out of the race, and she just started to tow me from the 500 (metres).”
“She loves this track, being trained here, and Shane has kept her mad fresh and with no weight on her back, I allowed her to flow, and she showed her good turn of foot that she normally shows.”
“There’s not much credit to me, I was basically a passenger today.”
Always Enuff has now recorded three victories on the Mornington circuit, where Nichols and Black prepare their racing team.
Nichols mentioned that Always Enuff appreciated the weight reduction on Saturday, having carried 58kg to a first-up fourth at Bendigo and 59.5kg when eighth at Caulfield on September 16.
“She was really good first-up then had no luck second-up when she got too far out of her ground with 59-½ kilos but worked up to the line good,” Nichols said.
“I felt she hadn’t gone backwards and this race we thought would be a good race for her.”
“She has won three times here now and down to 54 (kilos) she was able to make a strong run and she was quite impressive.”
“It was good for the group. They’ve been a bit patient with her, and the races have to be run to suit now, with a bit of sting out of the track, but it’s a nice pay day for her.”
Nichols confirmed that the 1000m trip is ideal for Always Enuff and that his current goal is to find a suitable ‘Black Type’ race over that distance.
“We’ll probably try and hunt some ‘Black Type’ with her,” Nichols remarked.
“She’s won $300,000 and she’s run fourth in a Stakes race, so we might try and target something down in the weights.”
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