Consistent galloper Forget overcame the outside barrier to score a comfortable win in the Group 3 $150,000 Strathayr Cameron Handicap (1500m) at Newcastle today.
Winning jockey Kerrin McEvoy was able to cross over in the early stage and take a sit on Forget ($9) behind the short priced favourite Ecuador ($2.80) who skipped out to clear lead in the middle stages.
The Gai Waterhouse trained Ecuador lead the field into the straight but couldn’t hold out the strong finishes of the first three placegetter and wound up in fourth spot.
McEvoy let Forget stride to the front at the 250m mark and the Kim Waugh trained gelding strode away over the concluding stages to score by one and a half lengths over Malice ($16) with Wouldnt It Be Nice ($31) running on strongly for third.
“That was a fantastic win and a brilliant ride from a terrible barrier,” Waugh said
Forget has been carrying big weights at his last two outings and won with 58.5kg two starts back over 1400m in a BenchMark 84 at Randwick before carrying 60kg when second in a 1400m BenchMark 85 at Randwick again on September 5.
But in the Cameron Handicap today, the Exceed And Excel six year old was weighted on the 54kg minimum and relished the 6kg drop in weight.
“He is brilliant. We don’t do a lot with him and we take him back to the farm and he loves it. He just keeps bouncing so we said let’s give him a run in the Cameron after his last run,” Waugh said.
“Kerrin rode him and he carried 60kg and it was a really tough effort to run second but today he just proved he is worthy of that.”
“He has been carrying big weights his hold prep. Very proud of him, great ride.”
McEvoy was also full of praise for Forget who has former Australian cricket greats Mark Waugh and Ricky Ponting among the ownership.
McEvoy was positive from the start and agreed with Kim Waugh that the huge drop in weight was a big advantage today.
“He was never going to get beaten,” McEvoy said.
“I was really pleased to come here today with a light weight on his back. He has been carrying some big weights in equally tough races on a Saturday in town.”
“So coming here with 54kg on his back, I’m sure he would have looked around and said what’s on my back here, so he was quite happy with that.”
