3 minute read

Trainer and jockey quotes after Bel Air claims the Channel 9 Trophy at Flemington on Tuesday.

Race Result:

1st: Bel Air (Anthony & Sam Freedman/Ben Melham) - $12
2nd: Is It Me (Daniel Bowman/Celine Gaudray) - $6.50
3rd: Warnie (Ciaron Maher/Ethan Brown) - $3.80

Winning Time: 1:22.53 Last 600m: N/A

Margins: Head x Short Half Head

Winning Trainer: Anthony & Sam Freedman (Sam speaking)

"He's not the easiest horse to train. He's a bit tricky. He doesn't want to hit the front too soon - that was the instruction for Ben.

"To go at the top of the straight, I was a little bit worried he would get run down. He fought on hard. It was a nice win. He was a horse that we've had a good opinion of a for a long time and hopefully he is starting to achieve that."

Next: "He's stakes potential, for sure. There's some really good races coming up for him over the summer and that was the intention for getting him in training at this time of year.

"This was really a bonus because there's some nice 1400-metre and mile races over the summer."

FROM racing.com

He (Melham) knows that he's a bit of a thinker and he's a bit of a reminder of his obligations through the run, and we were always going to get the blinkers back on him. I think after his last run, when he just had no chance from where he was in the run, they were always coming back on to get him out of the gates and interested so early was a positive."

I've got to say, the top of the straight from Bel Air hits the front of the 400-metre mark, it's a pretty long straight, you're holding your breath the whole way out of the running. But to his credit, he's probably got more in store than what he offered today. He'll get to a nice level, if he ever wants to fully extend himself, he'll get to a good level."

"The ownership group have been brilliant throughout. They understand his quirks and he' s Vobis qualified and I think that scheme in Victoria is brilliant for a horse like this. He's got a high rating, but there's plenty of races around for him.

You pick out your target, I mean, a race over the summer, even back in the summer on that rich Vobis day, there' ll be a mile there for him. But ultra consistent. I mean, I'm pretty harsh on him. He's won a lot of prize money. I think what you see at home, you never quite see it on track."

Winning Jockey: Ben Melham

"It was good to see this bloke return to the winners' stall. He's had the blinkers applied for the first time for the prep and with a positive ride he gave me a great feel through the run but he has a bit of a think about winning.

"J-Mac on the leader dropped off which left him in front a long way out which concerned me and he got a bit wayward the last bit. He did enough to hold on.

"He's a horse that's got good ability when he applies himself."

FROM racing.com

Quirky: "The horse is lovely, but he's got a bit of a mind of his own. His first couple of runs were okay, but with the blinkers applied today, it just gave him a bit of a liven up behind the gates just to let him know, just to put his mind on the job. He can be tardy away, but he began brilliantly today. I didn't want to be left in front too early on him."

"Ideally, it would have been nice to have something to sort of track up and chase down on the line. He was like a drunk that last little bit, but he managed to pull out enough to hold on."

Hard work late: "Throwing the kitchen sink at him I was, because literally I could feel him come back underneath me. He went from going to win easy and then when he got left in front, his ears went and he was looking around and he was thinking about how he could get out of it. It took a bit of persuading, but we got there in the end."