Cool mare has a passion for racing

3 min read

Written by Paul Vettise

Tony McEvoy has taken a patient approach with Cool Passion (Not A Single Doubt) and he’s hoping his waiting tactics will be rewarded with a Group 1 prize.

He is confident the 7-year-old can be a serious player at the top level and he has a firm plan in place to give her the opportunity to flex her sprinting muscles during her next preparation.

“She’s lightly-raced and has got more to come,” McEvoy said. “She loves her role and she is a big, strong mare and a very good one.”

Cool Passion won the G3 The Hong Kong Jockey Club S. during the Melbourne Cup Carnival and she followed up with another stylish display at Sandown on Saturday to add the G3 Kevin Heffernan S. to her record.

“She was so courageous at Flemington and to come here at weight-for-age against the boys and win is another very good performance.” - Tony McEvoy.

“She was so courageous at Flemington and to come here at weight-for-age against the boys and win is another very good performance,” McEvoy said.

Cool Passion, who has an excellent strike rate with 11 wins from 26 appearances, has the G1 Robert Sangster S. at Morphettville as her long-term goal.

Tony McEvoy after Cool Passion's win at Sandown

“She’s an elite level mare and she’ll go to the Group 1 in Adelaide in the autumn,” McEvoy said.

“She’ll go home now for a little break and we’ll jog her along and she will go into that race in her third or fourth run.”

Family connection

Playing a major role in the Sandown success was McEvoy’s nephew Kerrin, who was forced over extra ground but that mattered little to the outcome.

“She’s in good form and it was a strong win at Flemington,” McEvoy said. “I didn’t get any cover this time and I just wanted to keep her in her rhythm and save her for the last two furlongs.

“I didn’t ask her for a full effort until the last furlong and she really dug in and got the job done.”

Kerrin McEvoy returning to scale on Cool Passion

Cool Passion came with an undeniable finish to win at the expense of First Among Equals (Exceed And Excel) with Savanna Amour (Love Conquers All) coming from the back of the field for third.

“It’s always enjoyable to come here and get one for the uncle.” - Kerrin McEvoy.

“It’s always enjoyable to come here and get one for the uncle,” McEvoy added.

At the other end of the distance scale, Darren Weir’s Yogi (NZ) (Raise The Flag {USA}) showed his staying qualities with victory over 3200 metres in the Ladbrokes Sandown Cup.

“I was hoping he'd get into the Melbourne Cup as he loves wet ground,” said Weir.

“I'm not saying he would have won it, but seeing how strong he was at the end there, with 50 kilos on his back, with the blinkers on and wet ground, I'm tipping he would have beaten a few home.

Slow starter

Yogi, whose Cup hopes were dashed by an ordinary effort in the G3 Lexus S., hadn’t been helping his cause with tardy beginnings, but on Saturday he was way on terms.

“Early in the prep he was racing more tractable, not up on the speed but he'd have a few behind him,” Weir said.

“The two miles helped, but the blinkers going on were a good addition as well.”