By David Nagel
An early stumble couldn’t prevent the Phillip Stokes-trained Okay To Pay from banking her first metropolitan victory in the $130,000 Fillies and Mares BenchMark-70 Handicap (1000m) at The Valley on Saturday.
The lightly-raced four-year-old mare is building an impressive record, with Saturday’s half-length win her fifth success from just eight visits to the track.
The daughter of Gingerbread Man/Born Princess backed up her early maiden victory with three wins in BenchMark-64 company at Bendigo, Wangaratta and Stony Creek.
But she had failed at her only two attempts in town, but made amends on the weekend courtesy of a brilliant ride from apprentice jockey Madison Lloyd.
The up-and-coming hoop had one mission leaving the gates, to lead, which caused an early hiccup over the opening 100 metres of the race.
“We jumped out the gates and she wanted to go faster than she actually could in that ground, she had a couple of dips, but I crossed the inside horses a lot more comfortable than I thought I was going to,” Lloyd said post-race.
“Then I had horses pressuring to my outside and I couldn’t hold out Lachie Neindorf (on Baronessa).
“I had to let him cross and then he came back into my lap…so I just had to be a bit patient.”
Lloyd’s patience was certainly put to the test, with Okay To Pay locked away as the field turned for home down the short Valley straight.
Lloyd first extricated herself from the back of Baronessa, who would tire to finish last, before taking off after new race leader Boss Lady Rocks.
Lloyd caught Brett Prebble’s mount in the shadows of the post and then had to survive a late charge from the fast-finishing Little Stevie to win by a half-length on the line.
The winning jockey said patience was the key.
“I knew they wanted to be one off the fence or a little bit off, so I knew it (the inside run) was going to come,” Lloyd explained, before saying the 1000-metre trip is definitely the mare’s best distance.
“Yes, I think it is, she can get comfortable in the middle stages, she’s that quick out of the gates, but she’s only got a short little sprint…but when she does that it’s perfect.”
The win of Okay To Pay ($8.50) put some value into a very skinny quaddie dividend after the earlier wins of Gentleman Roy ($2.00), Marabi ($1.70) and Midwest ($1.90).
This particular journo got the quaddie, but returned a collect of $14.58 after an investment of $16.20. Not an ideal way to exercise your money!
