Winning Code Is Cracked

For those juveniles who cannot quite gain the winning edge in maiden and novices, the nurseries come around and give them a fair chance at their level. Crack The Code had shown up well but finding winners rated in the 80’s proved a little too steep at that stage of his career. He certainly showed there was plenty of room for improvement when shedding his maiden in the 6f Like Racing TV On Facebook Nursery Handicap at Catterick.

Crack The Code had already tried the handicap route once before when going close at Pontefract. Showing bright speed he was collared late on, owing to the stiff finish. Catterick is a far sharper track and it was felt that Crack The Code would be suited by this differing test. The draw wasn’t kind to the gelding who would face the task of stall 10 of 11.

With Tom Eaves on board, Crack The Code burst from the stalls to head straight to the fore. Outpacing his rivals, Crack The Code had made the perfect start to challenge for the lead. It was a strong pace being set and they were quickly swinging left handed and downhill. The natural speed shown by Crack The Code controlled the race and he travelled powerfully on the front end.

Tom wasted no time when entering the home straight and nudged his mount along to use his momentum. Crack The Code began to pull away from his rivals and had the race at his mercy. Having gone quite hard through the race, it would be a test to see if his reserves would last out for any late challenges.

Holding a clear advantage, of around 3 lengths, Crack The Code moved into the final furlong still going well. Tom just had to get a little more serious as he kept his mount up to his work. Having been outpaced, the favourite began to find their stride and close the margin. Although the lead was dwindling there was never really a danger as Crack The Code had done the hard work earlier in the race. Always doing enough, Crack The Code held off the late thrust to win by 1/2 length.

It was nice to see Crack The Code get off the mark and he did so in good style. Showing electric speed he had plenty left to finish the race off well. It seemed as though he was a little lonely in front and was only doing enough so there could be more to come from him. The handicapper will put him up for this and he should competitive for a while yet. His natural speed means that a drop to 5f should be no worry and there will be plenty of options for the 2yo moving forward.