Consistent galloper Sense Of Occasion scored an overdue Group 1 win in taking out the $650,000 Hardy Brothers Doomben Cup (2000m) at Doomben today.
Sense Of Occasion, above, was the winner of the Doomben Cup at Doomben. Photo by Steve Hart.
A late finishing burst from the Kris Lees trained Sense Of Occasion ($9) saw him outstay Star Exhibit ($8.50) with the Gold Coast trained Rudy ($31) running a brave race to fill third spot.
Sense Of Occasiosn was coming off a Sydney Autumn Carnival that saw him placed twice at Group 1 level with a third to It’s Somewhat in the Group 1 $3m The Star Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Randwick followed by a third to Winx in the Group 1 $4m Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick a week later.
Winning jockey Corey Brown was aboard Sense Of Occasion during the Sydney Autumn and was on again last start when sixth to It’s Somewhat in the Group 2 $358,000 Attwood Marshall A.D. Hollindale Stakes (1800m) at the Gold Coast a fortnight ago.
Brown said that things didn’t pan out at the Gold Coast and with a bit of luck Sense Of Occasion would have gone close to winning.
“Won really good today. Should have won the Hollindale,” Brown said.
“Today I let him do is own thing and settle in the last three or four.
“He picked them up quite easily.”
Pre-race Lees was a little concerned after Sense Of Occasion drew the outside alley in the fifteen horse field but praised Brown for his well timed ride.
“Little concerned with the alley,” Lees said.
“Corey waited and timed his run to perfection. Things played into his hands perfectly.”
Lees will now send the six year old to the paddock for a well-deserved break before mapping out a Spring Carnival plan
“Put him away and set him for the Spring,” Lees said.
Runner up Star Exhibit was the first of the three Darren Weir trained horses to cross the line with Amelie’s Star ($10) not far away in fourth position while the best fancied of the three stable runners, Articus ($5), was a well beaten fourteenth.
The $4.20 favourite It’s Somewhat sat off the leader Auvray ($151) in the early and middle stages but was under pressure on the home turn and faded in the straight to finish ninth, seven lengths from the winner.
Doomben Cup Results
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Starting Price |
| 1 | 3 | SENSE OF OCCASION | Kris Lees | Corey Brown | – | 15 | 59kg | $9 |
| 2 | 5 | STAR EXHIBIT | Darren Weir | Blake Shinn | 1.3L | 3 | 59kg | $8.50 |
| 3 | 13 | RUDY | Helen Page | Tim Clark | 1.5L | 2 | 59kg | $31 |
| 4 | 16 | AMELIE’S STAR | Darren Weir | John Allen | 1.7L | 9 | 57kg | $10 |
| 5 | 6 | MCCREERY (GB) | Chris Waller | Kerrin McEvoy | 2L | 13 | 59kg | $20 |
| 6 | 14 | SINGLE GAZE | Nick Olive | Ms Kathy O’Hara | 3.5L | 12 | 57kg | $9.50 |
| 7 | 9 | MAURUS (GB) | John P Thompson | Damian Browne | 4.3L | 14 | 59kg | $15 |
| 8 | 7 | CYLINDER BEACH (NZ) | Desleigh Forster | Jim Byrne | 6.8L | 11 | 59kg | $41 |
| 9 | 1 | IT’S SOMEWHAT (USA) | Darren Bean | James Doyle | 7.1L | 5 | 59kg | $4.20F |
| 10 | 17e | SOUND PROPOSITION (NZ) | Lance O’Sullivan & Andrew Scott | Opie Bosson | 9.9L | 6 | 59kg | $51 |
| 11 | 11 | EMPHASIS | Richie Stephenson | Ronnie Stewart | 10L | 8 | 59kg | $151 |
| 12 | 15 | JESSY BELLE | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Bobby El-Issa | 12.5L | 4 | 57kg | $41 |
| 13 | 10 | ASTRONOMOS (GB) | John P Thompson | Blake Spriggs | 13.3L | 10 | 59kg | $31 |
| 14 | 12 | ARTICUS (FR) | Darren Weir | Brenton Avdulla | 13.6L | 7 | 59kg | $5 |
| 15 | 18e | AUVRAY (FR) | Richard Freedman | Jeff Lloyd | 25.6L | 1 | 59kg | $151 |
