Shoobees Spirit winning in Hobart on Friday night. Photo by Chelsea Matthews
Consistent pacer Shoobees Spirit ($6.50) recorded his first win of the season when claiming the Woodlands Stud Your Genetic Edge Pace (1609m) at Hobart’s Ladbrokes Park Elwick on Friday night.
Trainer Steve Lukac admitted he had some concerns during the race, with the six-year-old gelded son of Shoobees Place coming from last at the bell to win in 1:57.6s.
“I was a bit worried at the half when he lost the back of James Cagney. I thought, ‘this is going to test him out’,” said Lukac.
“He basically led up the three-wide line on his own, and I thought, ‘I don’t know if he can keep going like this’. I knew they were starting to run then, but he really knuckled down and battled it out.
The victory continued a consistent run for Shoobees Spirit, who Lukac admits is somewhat limited by his racing pattern, but regularly earns prize money when circumstances fall his way.
The pacer has now won 10 races, with five of those wins coming in the past 20 months.
“He’s one-dimensional, I think everybody knows that, but when things go his way he’s always thereabouts, and he’s always earning a cheque.
“You’d love a stable full of horses like him,” said the trainer.
Lukac recalled recommending the pacer to owner Greg West after watching the pacer on the mainland.
“He’s turned out to be a cheap horse. There’s no special gear, there is nothing special you really have to do with him. He’s basically maintenance-free.
“You’ve just got to keep him happy and let him balance up early, and then see if he can finish it off,” said Lukac.
Lukac felt Shoobees Spirit had indicated a win was close when finishing third at his previous start, despite taking time to balance up when gaining clear running.
“By the time he got into the sprint lane, got balanced up and got going, they were never going to get the leader.
“I wasn’t going to start him this week, because he likes to stay a little bit fresh, but I thought, ‘On that run, I’ve got to put him in because he’s knocking on the door’. Strike while the iron’s hot, and he did the rest for us,” the trainer explained.
The win was the first as a driver in Tasmania for Luke Alcorn, who is exploring a permanent move to Tasmania. He has now driven a winner in every Australian state except for Western Australia.
Training honours at the meeting went to Wayne Yole, who prepared a treble with Queenofdance ($19), Vanquish Stride ($1.65 fav) and Kenya ($1.80 fav).
Dylan Ford drove both Vanquish Stride and Kenya, sharing driving honours with Jordan Chibnall, the winner aboard Remmington ($3.00 fav) and Spooky Girl ($7.50).
