3 minute read

Trainer and jockey quotes after (Cloudland claims the MSS Security Subzero Handicap at Flemington on Tuesday.

Race Result:

1st: Cloudland (Kris Lees/James McDonald) - $3F
2nd: Riot And Rose (Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman/Luke Currie) - $4.40
3rd: Chattahoochee (Cindy Alderson/Craig Williams) - $5.50

Winning Time: 1:22.71    Last 600m: N/A

Margins: ¾L x ¾L

Winning Trainer: Kris Lees

Comments from Terry Henderson - Nine:

On having a winner on Cup Day: "It's fantastic. Cup Day is very, very special for anyone in Australia and to get a winner with this horse is particularly special."

On Cloudland's reputation as being a difficult horse: "That's the understatement. He's a very, very hard horse for Kris Lees to train. He's done a remarkable job to get him here and a beautiful ride for James but normally this horse is very, very hard riding."

On Sea King in the Melbourne Cup later today: "Very excited about that, Harry's done a great job. He's only had the horse 8 weeks, but the horse is in tip top form as we saw at Bendigo. We couldn't be happier with the preparation so far. Hollie is a very, very good international rider, so just we just need that bit of luck."

On the atmosphere and younger demographic at Flemington today: "Young Leo's (Grandson) is down from Sydney to enjoy the cup day celebrations and it's fantastic around the course to see so many young people around."

Comments from Cameron Swan - stable rep - racing.com:

"It looked the right race for him today. He's been running some good races this preparation. I don't think he's been beaten less than a length this preparation. Really pleased to get the win today."

How is he as a traveller: "He's pretty good. He's a bit erratic, as you've even seen today; he can wander a little bit; but he's won 6 of 19 starts, so he's been very consistent.

"He has only been out of the place a couple of times so he's been good, Kris has placed him really well."

What's next: "One thing I do know with Kris, his best attribute is finding the right races for him and we've got stables at the Gold Coast, we obviously bring him down here, in New South Wales so Kris will find out."

Winning Jockey: James McDonald

FROM NINE

Thoughts on riding an early double: "It's been a good start to the carnival and these horses are perfectly placed. Obviously, Krissy Lees is a very astute trainer and he's placed this horse to perfection from Queensland. So well found and it was a pleasure to pick up the ride."

Thoughts on how the track has played so far: "They've been on pace runners so far. As the as the day goes on, look for the truck to be drying out a tad more and it will get a little bit quicker.

"At the moment, I might just keep aiming up for first four and see what they can do."

From racing.com

"He was a quirky bugger. At least he won, that's what I liked about him, but he was pretty hard work going to the gates.

"He did everything really well out there though, that was the positive thing. He really gave me a good kick when I asked, so it was a good effort."

What the quirks are: "He tried to buck me off going to the start, which I wasn't too pleased about. Especially only day two and I were carnival. Didn' t feel like hitting the deck this early. But yeah, stayed on.