Prebble's title hunt fading as Whyte rides on
It's death by a thousand cuts for Brett Prebble's championship hopes, with titleholder Douglas Whyte merely edging away meeting by meeting and the Aussie's opportunities to rein him in diminishing all the while.
'I'm just chipping away,' was Whyte's call on the state of play as, not for the first time lately, he bounced back to spoil Prebble's day just when it looked like the chaser was making progress.
Prebble landed the opening race on Manfred Man Ka-leung's griffin, Mascot Fortune, tipping out Whyte's best ride on paper for the day, One World, and looked ripe for a double with his own 'good thing', Helene Brilliant, to come later.
But Helene Brilliant dipped out after Whyte came straight back at Prebble in the third with Three Clubs and the Durban Demon added Maribeau later to take him to 83 victories and a five-win cushion with five meetings to play.
'I never thought it would be anything but tough,' said Prebble. 'But I'm still there and one good day can change everything.'
On the prospects for Mascot Fortune, he was even more optimistic, believing the youngster has what it takes to move up the ranks.
'He won today on raw ability, not because he's a natural two-year-old. He's not really ready yet and he missed the start, did a few things wrong during the race,' Prebble said. 'Even when he was making his run between horses, he was quite timid and having a look, but when he got balanced and lengthened - gee, he really let go.
'I'm a fan of the Fusaichi Pegasus horses and I think this one will come on next season and we'll be looking at him in six months as pretty smart.'
Whyte's patient ride on Three Clubs was what the gelding was looking for after not having a lot of luck recently and the jockey forecast a future for him, even though he goes back to Class Four.
'I always wanted to ride him back and for luck but he impressed me the way he picked them up so quickly,' he said.
'He hasn't a long sprint but it's a strong one and I'm sure he'll handle himself in Class Four.'
