Doomben races: Ballistic Lover hangs on to win despite jumping at shadow

There was a bizarre reason for Sydney visitor Ballistic Lover almost throwing away victory in the 3YO Quality Handicap at Doomben.

Joe Pride-trained Ballistic Lover appeared to have the 1050m sprint at her mercy before the filly put some in some weird strides in the shadows of the post.

It helped Rex Lipp’s promising galloper Simply Fly bridge the gap to only just go down as the runner-up surged home from last.

Ballistic Lover’s jockey Robbie Fradd told stewards he felt his filly shied at something in the final stages and he was proved correct.

Stewards’ footage showed Ballistic Lover baulking at a shadow on the track, caused by lights on top of the Doomben winning post.

Ballisic Lover too good for them in the seventh at Doomben. A nice strong looking filly getting the job done. pic.twitter.com/XokRjCo80y

Toowoomba trainer Lipp was delighted with the run of Simply Fly, labelling him on track for a winter carnival assault which he hopes could include the Stradbroke Handicap.

Meanwhile, sharpshooting punters marked the QTIS 2YO Handicap as a two-horse race and they were on the money, with Rob Heathcote filly Startantes ($4-$3.60) nailing a narrow win over the Chris Munce-trained Military Gambler ($3.60-$2.80).

Every other horse in the 1200m dash drifted in betting as the well-backed runners settled down to fight out the finish.

Startantes, a daughter of Heathcote’s former Group 2 winner Funtantes, scored a deserved win as she came from a long way back, with Taylor Marshall producing a well-timed ride to get her off the fence and produce.

The win saw Startantes turn the tables on Military Gambler from the last time they met at Doomben.

Horse Racing: Cascadian wins the Group 1 Doncaster Mile at Randwick on Day 1 of the Championships with Nature Strip also taking out the TJ Smith Stakes….

Horse Racing: Cascadian wins the Group 1 Doncaster Mile at Randwick on Day 1 of the Championships with Nature Strip also taking out the TJ Smith Stakes.

Originally published asBallistic Lover jumps at shadow but still wins

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