The rescheduled 1200-metre G3 Bletchingly S. at Sandown Lakeside on Sunday was supposed to mark the victorious return of Australian Horse of the Year Lankee Rupee (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}), but the Mick Price-trained sprinter was upstaged by the upwardly mobile Ability (Aus) (Reward For Effort {Aus}) (Video), reported racenet.com.au. Owned by the Teeley Assets Syndicate, Lankan Rupee was last seen running fourth in the G1 Darley Classic on Nov. 5, before pulling up sore. The former champion sprinter charged to the head of affairs 200 metres from the line, but immediately looked in danger, as Ability unleashed an electric turn of foot and began reeling in the $3.40 favourite. After a brief tussle, Ability prevailed by a half-length, with Lankee Rupee holding on for second.
“He's the new kid on the block and he went into the race with good fitness and you needed that on this surface, maybe if Lankan Rupee had one more run he might of given us a little bit more of a challenge,” Dwayne Dunn told racenet.com.au, of the gelding who has now won four straight appearances. “He's the new kid on the block and he ticked a lot of boxes today. We've always had a big opinion of this horse and the gelding operation unfortunately had to be done, but it's turned him into a racehorse instead of a horse that was never going to live up his potential.”
Lankan Rupee's pilot Craig Newitt was happy with the effort and said, “It was a super run, really happy with him. He gave me a really good kick at the 300m and he was pretty good through the line. His condition only gave out late and he was beaten by a horse that's rock hard fit.”
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