By David Nagel
A locally-trained Pakenham galloper has captured the imagination of the racing world after a rags-to-riches rise through the ranks and winning four races in 13 days!
Pakenham trainer Frankie Stockdale has found the secret to success for his six-year-old gelding Dubai Moon, who made it four wins in less than two weeks on his home track at Pakenham on Thursday night.
Stockdale shocked the racing world when he ran Dubai Moon at Moe on Saturday 27 January, just 24 hours after an eight-length win at Hanging Rock on Australia Day.
Dubai Moon saluted once again, with Stockdale backing him up just five days later at Pakenham on Thursday 1 February.
He once again clobbered his rivals, winning by five lengths, before making it four from four just a week later on Thursday night.
Stockdale can’t believe his turnaround in form.
“He was getting beat at the picnics, but should have been winning races all the time, I thought, on his trackwork,” he said.
“His working was real good, we put him over a few steeplechases to wake him up a bit and now he’s putting in, he’s trying, he wasn’t trying too hard, that’s all.
“He doesn’t have to do a lot, he’s hard, tough, fit now, we tick him over, keep him happy, eating and drinking, and he’s fine.”
Stockdale may aim for five wins in 21 days at Mooney Valley on Friday night, but the horse will always come first.
“It’s a nice little race for him, a Benchmark-64 again, so sort of like the same race he just won,” he said.
“But he might have felt it a bit today; I had a look at him in the yard afterwards, he was having a bit of a puff…he knew he’d been around, so we might just pull up a bit.”
