The inside part of the Geelong track was ‘off’ as the field in the Viatek BM64 Handicap fanned wide across the track, but someone forgot to tell Copper Fox and Michael Poy as the pair came from near last to canter home down the inside and take out the win.
The six-year-old son of Foxwedge chalked up win number five from 22 starts and this one was clearly his most crafty, easily accounting for his rivals in what was a step down in grade for him today.
While Copper Fox has plenty of ability he often finds it hard to stick his nose out when it matters, but Michael Poy couldn’t have won any easier today with the striking chestnut eased down on the line.
“It was a really good run, it was really good to get the cash, this horse as always shown a lot of ability,” said Poy.
“A good draw today, ridden quietly, they were all fanning out wide and I just didn’t see the purpose of getting that far out so we stuck to the fence and saved the ground and the horse gave me a really nice feel with a good turn of foot,” Poy said.
While the step down in grade was telling and the soft ground suited, it might have been the freshen up that helped Copper Fox the most given his last run when placed was also first-up in February.
“It was good to get another win on the board with this horse, he’s been a bit frustrating and he probably needs his runs spaced a little bit,” said Henry.
“With the rating he’s got up to it is hard to find a suitable race for him and when you are only racing every few weeks it makes it hard to win, so he’s gone 12 months without a win, so it was good to get the monkey off the back today.
“It was a pretty good win actually, it looked relatively easy, but it was probably even better than it looked because he was hard on the fence where no horse had figured in the finish at all during the day.
“He also had to carry four kilograms or more than any of the first five or six home in the race, so he’s lumped a big weight, done it on the wrong part of the track and he’s done it very easily in the end,” said Henry.
Copper Fox will now enjoy a week at the beach for a freshen up with no suitable races on the immediate horizon, but today’s win might just be the tonic for horse and connections to hunt down another win next start.