Fresh from his heat win when he finished strong to win, The Iron Duke was piloted by Deni Roberts in the final, with Gary Hall Jnr opting to pilot Nathan Street.
In an action-packed race, Roberts allowed The Iron Duke to establish himself in the field early on, but one outside the gate. The pace was high at the start, with Blaze Away and Blazing Reactor having a spirited battle for the lead, with the former leading the way.
THE IRON DUKE DEC 19 REPETITION
With just under two laps to travel, Roberts had The Iron Duke go around the field to sit outside Blaze Away. Favorite Nathan Street started from behind with just over a lap to go, but he contacted Rockandrollartist’s sulky and broke apart, losing all chances afterwards.
There was even more drama on the final lap when Lil Happy Fella rode the three back onto the rails, was checked and broke, hindering a number of other runners.
The Iron Duke took over the straightening and he emerged a comfortable winner over Captain Confetti, who finished a close second, while Rockandrollartist was a strong third after running three wide on the final lap.
Owners of the Ferraro family were not surprised by his success.
At work I quite liked this horse, but his few runs earlier, even though he was winning, I thought he would have won them more easily at work. But he has been lightly raced and he is a big Always B Miki, he has had to get used to our racing a bit. He’s just starting to understand what all the fuss is about. Even at home, there wasn’t much he could do in the run-up to the preparation. And he hasn’t been very good at sitting. But with every run at home with a seat, he got better and better.
Deni rode him perfectly tonight. He has always had the speed at home. I know Jnr rode him here once coming out of the gate and he said he just misses that point-to-point speed. And I said I’m not sure he does. Maybe he just hasn’t learned to let go and it was good to see that last start at that high speed there. He definitely has the engine to keep that good pace, he’s clearly going to the next level, but hopefully he can handle that.
Before joining Justin Prentice’s stable in September this year, the five-year-old gelding was groomed by Victorian trainer David Miles and achieved moderate success with six wins, including one at Melton where he ran 1.56.3.
Under the capable hands of Justin Prentice, The Iron Duke has won five races at Gloucester Park and seems to be constantly improving.
By Tony Milanese for Harnesslink
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