Jazzam will have to overcome a 20-metre handicap to win Friday night's SEW-Eurodrive The Gammalite
Dynamic Drouin racemare Jazzam will be competing for more than prizemoney in this Friday night’s SEW-Eurodrive The Gammalite from Tabcorp Park, Melton – she’ll also be hoping to defer a date with destiny.
With the mighty mare’s owners, the Fusinato family, earmarking the 2010 breeding season as Jazzam’s first, it is a matter of when, not if, the seven-year-old will meet with Western Ideal to break her maiden status in more ways than one.
But with no set date yet fixed for her first foray to stud, Friday’s 2760-metre stand-start feature literally represents a chance for Jazzam to race for her career.
“We’ll actually be guided by Friday night as to when to pull the pin with her,” the mare’s trainer Debbie Quinlan reported.
“If she struggles and doesn’t cope with the distance, we’ll probably give her a break now, but if she performs really well, we’ll probably give her another month of racing,
“But either way, sometime this spring she’ll be going to Western Ideal and having six weeks or so in the paddock.”
While the incredible evolution of embryonic transfer techniques will ensure Jazzam a further 12 months on the track, her connections are understandably keen to make hay while the sun shines with their super mare.
And with Jazzam’s nemesis of recent months, Make Mine Cullen, nominated for the Shire of Melton Plate, and therefore unable to cause the Quinlan camp more headaches – at least for now – The Gammalite looks a great chance for her to shine.
“Look, we don’t mind running second to Make Mine Cullen, it’s no disgrace running second to her,” Quinlan laughed.
“Due to our lack of gate speed we’ve had to lead three-wide lines and last week, for instance, Gavin (Lang), was happy to do that with her and she clearly ran second.
“This week we’ve given Chris (Alford) his first drive on the horse, and there won’t be any instructions. Chris is a brilliant driver and that’s why you put him on, because you know he’ll make the right decisions.”
Of most concern to the high-spirited horsewoman, along with chief adversaries Karlsruhe (30m) and Tanabi Bromac (20m), is that Jazzam makes it away safely from her 20-metre handicap and stays the gruelling 2760 metres of the race.
“Our main hope is that she gets away clean,” the trainer said.
“The only two stand (start) runs she’s had, she’s gotten away good, so if she can do that again and run the trip, we’ll be happy that she’s had her chance.”
