Daniel Cordina is very proud of his horse Charlaval after winning the Simpson Memorial
PROUD owner Daniel Cordina has confirmed Simpson Memorial winner Charlaval will concentrate on the New South Wales Derby next month and will not be heading to Victoria. Cordina confirmed while the Victoria Derby heats next weekend were very tempting, the decision has been made to stay home and not overtax the son of Four Starzzz Shark.
“It was tempting to go to Victoria but I wouldn’t want to see him travel down there have a tough run in the heats and then be cooked for the New South Wales Derby,” Cordina said.
“You can’t go in everything and I’d rather go into a race where I think my horse can be very competitive plus he loves Menangle so it doesn’t make too much sense to take him away right now.”
Charlaval is named after a horse raced by Cordina’s father Joe many years ago and Saturday night’s victory brought back some fond memories.
“Dad had a horse called Charlaval about 50 years ago, I didn’t know if the name would be available but he got it which was great and I’ve got another one that I’ve named after one of Dad’s old horses.
“I bought him at the Bathurst Gold Crown Sale and only paid $15,000 for him so after Saturday night I am well in front on him.”
Cordina was unsure about the horse’s ability early on but is not afraid of taking on any horses.
“David Micallef broke him in for me, he didn’t show a great deal but I was told he would be a nice horse without being anything special.
“I gave him to Kerryann to train and he went to Goulburn for his infamous debut run where he nearly jumped the outside fence on the home corner.”
Charlaval’s first target as a two year old was the Graeme Board Graduate at Bathurst and after winning it comfortably, connections pressed on towards the Gold Crown.
“He ran second in his heat and then finished fifth in the Gold Crown which was great, he probably deserved to go for a spell after that but I kept him in and we competed in the Breeders Challenge although he was a pretty tired horse by that stage of the season.
“He had a spell and came back really well and I thought his run in the Chokin Stakes behind Power Of Red was really good so I was surprised when he started the odds he did in the Simpson Memorial.”
Cordina is only a small punter but increased his bet on Saturday night when he saw the big odds on offer.
“I might have $10 each way on my horses normally but I was pretty confident because I put $50 each way on him at $16 which made the win even sweeter.
“There are going to be some nice horses in the NSW Derby, Our Waikiki Beach is a great horse but I think I have a horse that is going to be competitive against anything.”
Harness Racing NSW (HRNSW) is the controlling body for harness racing in New South Wales with responsibility for commercial and regulatory management of the industry including 31 racing clubs across the State. HRNSW is headed by an industry-appointed Board of Directors and is independent of Government.
|
To arrange an interview or for further information please contact:
|
|
Name:
|
Greg Hayes
|
|
Position:
|
Media Manager
|
|
Phone:
|
(02) 9722 6600
|
|
Email:
|
ghayes@hrnsw.com.au
|
