It might have been only a small field of six but very little separated the first four horses in the Westspeed Handicap over 1650m. In a slugging finish topweight Prentice (Jarrad Noske) scored by a nose from Rattlehead (Shaun O’Donnell) with a half head to Toppa Dawozza (Jason Whiting) in third place.
Noske carried out trainer Simon Foster’s instructions to the letter. “I told Jarrad I would be happy for him to go back and he rode him cold in last position. He can pull a bit and today was his best effort because he was taken quietly early.” Noske said his charge was getting a bit tired at the end but as Foster said Prentice was entitled to carrying 59.5 kg on a wet track. Foster may start his charge over 2000m in a fortnight but he is no certainty.
The Bunbury based trainer has an ambitious program with the VRC Derby (2500m) his main goal. “I do think he can stay and I will either give him one more start here or take him straight to Victoria,” Foster said.
The win was Prentice’s second victory in 11 starts. He opened his account as a two year old by winning the Sire Produce Stakes.