Redzel Holds Off Under The Louvre In The Heath 1100

Redzel held-off a fast-finishing Under The Louvre to record a gutsy victory in the 2016 The Heath 1100 at Caulfield on Saturday.

Redzel led from start to finish to win at Caulfield this afternoon. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos

Redzel led from start to finish to win at Caulfield this afternoon. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos

Redzel drew towards the outside of The Heath 1100 field and he showed plenty of speed in the early stages of the race to take up the running, while Under The Louvre was settled at the tail of the field.

Mark Zahra did not waste anytime asking Redzel for an effort and he kicked away at the top of the straight, which proved to be enough to get him home despite the flying finish of Under The Louvre.

Zahra admitted that there is only one way to ride Redzel and he was thrilled that the speedy galloper was able to hold on in the final stages of The Heath 1100.

“He is fast and Pete said that one furlong is all you need to break before you get going again,” Zahra said.

“That is what I did and I was waiting for Under The Louvre, but I just had a big enough break on him.

“You have to get out and get rolling and pray that in the last 100 they don’t come at you.”

Redzel has proven to be a slightly tricky customer for both connections and punters, but co-trainer Peter Snowden now believes that he has worked out how to ensure the Snitzel gelding performs at his best.

Snowden said that he plans to continue to space out the runs of Redzel and he revealed that the four-year-old would return to Sydney and likely not have another run for over a month.

“It is a good result,” Snowden said.

“He is a very genuine horse and this race was identified straight after his last start.

“The way he races takes a fair bit out of the horse and he needs to have his races spaced.

“We have the key to him now and he just keeps busy.

“He will go back to Sydney and he won’t run for a month.

“There are some good sprints coming up and hopefully he keeps raising the bar.

“A good horse chased him down today and there are a lot of good horses around at this time of the year.

Stradbroke Handicap winner Under The Louvre did everything but win The Heath 1100 and he ran some incredible closing sectionals in the 1100 metres event, while Santa Ana Lane returned with a more than credible third place finish.

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Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.