Davcon A Cut Above His Rivals
The Sunday Age
Sunday July 13, 2008
HORSES with the ability to run in a Caulfield Guineas are not usually seen in the depths of the following winter, but for Davcon, who finished fourth to Weekend Hussler in the group 1 event last October, a win in yesterday's Omega Smeg Handicap (1600 metres) was a welcome return to form.
After two poor runs at the start of his next campaign, Davcon was found to be pinching himself so the decision was made to geld him and he then had a short let-up."He hasn't been far away in his last three runs but it has taken a while to get back to his best and I'm very happy to have him back," trainer Heath Conners said.After settling well back in the field, jockey Michael Rodd pulled Davcon ($4.80 favourite) to the outside and he quickly rounded up the leaders before holding off Ma Shang, who lost her winning chance by ducking in over the final stages.? While it was only an off-season sprint, the all-the-way win of Kaphero ($3.30 favourite) in the Tatts Group Handicap (1000 metres) - his third win in a row - brought the added bonus for connections of a win over El Segundo in the Moonee Valley horse-of-the-year award.The win brought up a double for jockey Vlad Duric, who had won earlier in the day on We Wonder, as well as for trainer Leon Corstens."(Kaphero) never ceases to amaze me," said Duric. "As he has got older he has learned to relax and once in front he has a great cruising speed." Duric said Kaphero, who carried 61.5 kilograms, had had enough on the line but held off the fast-finishing Threedee by three-quarters of a length.Corstens now plans to give the four-year-old a short break before aiming for some better sprint races in the spring.The Kilmore trainer's earlier win came with Brolago, who won the Pages Equipment Handicap.
© 2008 The Sunday Age
