By Tim O’Connor (HRV)<\/p>\n
Catch A Wave produced something special to defeat superstar rival Captain Ravishing in last Saturday night\u2019s Chariots of Fire.<\/p>\n
Emma Stewart\u2019s speed machine was thought by many to be just about unbeatable in the Group 1 classic for four-year-olds, but his fellow Victorian proved simply too good on the big stage at Menangle (NSW).<\/p>\n
Catch A Wave sat parked for the majority of the 1609m dash, and despite looking beaten rounding the home turn, was able to knuckle down and reel in the red-hot $1.15 favourite inside the last 50m for a truly memorable victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard Matthews, he\u2019d waited his whole life to get a horse like this. He\u2019d spent so much money and (put so much) time into the sport for years, and unfortunately, he passed away a few months ago,\u201d driver Kate Gath said.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously Captain Ravishing didn\u2019t go his best, but this horse was super and it\u2019s just a shame Richard wasn\u2019t here to see it.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s still great all the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gath pressed forward from barrier six and tested Captain Ravishing in the early stages of Saturday night\u2019s race, but was forced to sit outside him when the punters\u2019 pick kicked up and held a comfortable advantage.<\/p>\n
And it looked as though the sport\u2019s spruik horse was going to streak away for a dominant success when he broke clear of Catch A Wave approaching the turn, but the big bay gelding showed great courage to fight back and defeat his rival. In the end, Catch A Wave won by 2.6m in a mile rate of 1:49.1, with Cantfindabettorman third.<\/p>\n
\u201cInto the straight I was still travelling, but you still think Captain Ravishing is going to find a gear,\u201d Gath said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was sort of asking him around the last corner, Mark Pitt was, and I thought it would get going once I got outside of it, but it just didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the run, if it wasn\u2019t Captain Ravishing I would have thought I had a great hope at the top of the straight, but to burn off the arm as well is just a super effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saturday night\u2019s Chariots of Fire wasn\u2019t run until close to 11pm after wild weather caused a significant delay to the start of the meeting.<\/p>\n
Catch A Wave, who is trained by Gath\u2019s husband Andy, has now secured a spot in March 4\u2019s $1million Miracle Mile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Tim O’Connor (HRV) Catch A Wave produced something special to defeat superstar rival Captain Ravishing in last Saturday night\u2019s Chariots of Fire. Emma Stewart\u2019s speed machine was thought by many to be just about unbeatable in the Group 1 classic for four-year-olds, but his fellow Victorian proved simply too good on the big stage […]<\/p>\n