Hey Doc has continued his unbeaten run of form through the 2016 Spring Carnival with a particularly classy performance for success in the Group 2 Bill Stutt Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley this evening.
Hey Doc produced a big turn of foot to win the Group 2 Bill Stutt Stakes at Moonee Valley tonight. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos
Hey Doc was drawn ideally in barrier 2 in the Stutt Stakes but jockey Luke Currie did not elect to press the gelding forward from the alley; taking a position within the field of eleven as Detective and Tessera duked it out at the fore.
Currie weaved through the pack with the son of Duporth rounding onto the final straight and the result was sealed 300m from home; the three-year-old hitting the line lengths ahead of a brave Land Of Plenty and Kaching.
Currie was thrilled with Hey Doc’s performance to win the Stutt Stakes 2016 and believes he is up to the standard of the top three-year-old races this season.
“He’s a bloody good horse,” Currie said.
“He’s kept improving from his first prep and he’s been flying at home. Tony’s picked the right races for him to continue stepping up.
“He’s had a couple of gallops here at the Valley and he’s worked unbelievably. I expected him to do that today and he showed that he’s not a bad horse.
“We had a perfect run, the speed was good. I thought that I’d like to be getting to the lead a furlong later but when we did get there, I thought we’d get around the corner and go and make everyone else’s job hard.”
Trainer Tony McEvoy echoed Currie’s sentiments of Hey Doc’s quality, and revealed that the 2016 Caulfield Guineas is still in consideration as his next point of call.
“He really impressed me,” McEvoy said.
“Coming into this race the horse had to lift to another level and he really put it to them on the corner.
“He was getting a little tired late because it was run at a pretty solid tempo, but a month between runs and first go at a mile, I thought he was fabulous.
“We’ve just got to work out what’s the best thing for the horse, and how far he’ll run.
“I’ll be guided by Luke to see if he wants to go even further. Whether we go to the Vase, which is here, he loves the Valley. We have a few decisions to make.”
Punters who backed Hey Doc to win the Stutt Stakes with Ladbrokes.com.au have been paid out on generous $4 odds!
2016 Bill Stutt Stakes Results
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | HEY DOC | Tony McEvoy | Luke Currie | – | 2 | 57kg | $4F |
| 2 | 10 | LAND OF PLENTY | Mick Price | Craig Newitt | 1.5L | 7 | 57kg | $31 |
| 3 | 8 | KACHING | Ciaron Maher | Nicholas Hall | 3L | 11 | 57kg | $7.50 |
| 4 | 6 | INFERENCE | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Dwayne Dunn | 3.5L | 3 | 57kg | $5.50 |
| 5 | 1 | DETECTIVE | Peter & Paul Snowden | Blake Shinn | 3.6L | 5 | 57kg | $4.60 |
| 6 | 7 | MANDALAY BAY | Matt Laurie | Ben Melham | 4.85L | 4 | 57kg | $13 |
| 7 | 2 | TESSERA | John O’Shea | Craig Williams | 4.95L | 6 | 57kg | $7 |
| 8 | 4 | PYX CHAMBER | John O’Shea | Michael Dee (a) | 5.7L | 9 | 57kg | $81 |
| 9 | 11 | THE RICH FISHER | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Dylan Dunn (a) | 7.45L | 10 | 57kg | $151 |
| 10 | 9 | BACK TO THE BOWLER | Stuart Webb | Mark Zahra | 8.95L | 8 | 57kg | $101 |
| 11 | 5 | MANHATTAN STREET | Lisa Latta | Jonathan Riddell | 10.45L | 1 | 57kg | $12 |
