Liberty Blue made it five straight wins at Pioneer Park on Saturday with victory in the Australian Transit Group BM76 Handicap (1100m).
The eight-year-old gelding was assigned to champion Red Centre trainer Lisa Whittle when he returned to Central Australia for a third time after finishing ninth at Gawler over 1100m (BM58) in June.
The son of Statue Of Liberty finished second for the sixth time in nine Alice starts when he trailed Greg Connor’s Intercontinental home over 1100m (BM54) on July 17.
A week later he came third behind stablemate Ananagram and Rene Taylor’s Golden Ripples over 1000m (0-58) with former Darwin apprentice Jade Hampson, who had the benefit of a 3kg claim, once again in the saddle.
On August 6, Liberty Blue lined up over 1200m (BM54) and although leading Darwin jockey Sonja Wiseman was booked when Hampson decided to accompany Top End trainer Tayarn Halter to Western Australia, it was a similar story for the South Australian galloper when he ran second behind Kevin Lamprecht’s Travanti.
That made it 15 seconds from 51 starts, which also included finishing as the bridesmaid on seven occasions in 11 starts at Pioneer Park.
Liberty Blue’s first two wins were achieved at Port Augusta – at his 15th start in an 1100m maiden in June 2020, and then again 21 starts later over 1100m (BM50) in June 2021.
Following his first win, the gelding finished second in his next four starts at Port Augusta – enough to drive Strathalbyn trainer Scott Whittle bonkers.
In his first Red Centre campaign from March through April last year – where he raced just prior and during the Alice Springs Cup Carnival – Liberty Blue had four starts for three straight seconds before coming fifth.
Twelve months later he returned to the NT and made four appearances for a second, a fourth and a sixth before coming second behind Lisa Whittle’s Harpuna over 1000m (0-58) on Alice Springs Cup Day on May 1.
Liberty Blue went back to SA and could only muster a third in four starts before Scott Whittle sent the horse to his sister Lisa back in Alice Springs.
The dam wall burst on August 20 when Liberty Blue (Wiseman) finally saluted with an emphatic victory over 1100m (Class 2) after assuming control of the race at the 800m.
He backed that up six days later with victory in the Ladbrokes Winter Series Final (1200m) at BM66 level, with Wiseman aboard, after securing qualification following his two seconds upon his return to the Red Centre.
That was followed by a wins over 1200m (0-64) on September 11 and 1000m (0-70) on September 25.
“Yeah, he’s absolutely flying at the moment – it’s only taken him eight years to get there,” laughed Wiseman after piloting Liberty Blue to his fifth-straight win.
“I can’t be more proud of him or Lisa’s effort to get him up to where he is.
“I think the blinkers have definitely helped him to a degree.
“He’s the sort of horse that you can’t fight.
“You’ve just got to let him travel where he’s happy.”
The transition in the horse has been extraordinary.
Liberty Blue got awfully close on previous trips to the Alice, and although Lisa Whittle and Sonja Wiseman have got the skills and talent the fact the gelding has jumped well and has settled nicely up front has played a key role in his recent success.
It’s as if he finds another gear in the home straight as he just leaves his rivals in his wake going to the line as a comfortable winner.
“I think it’s a bit of everything,” Wiseman said when assessing Liberty Blue’s sudden dominance.
“He’s travelled around a lot and he’s sort of stayed in one place for a while now.
“He seems happy going around to the gates – he gets a pony and he’s happy with the pony being there.
“Then on top of that, Lisa’s whole stable is really firing at the moment as well.
“So whatever she’s doing she’s got the horses travelling and looking good, so it’s always a bonus when they’re looked after.”
Wiseman admitted that she was unsure whether Liberty Blue could win on Saturday against quality sprinters after stepping up to BM76 level, but he started as a $2.80 favourite with online bookmakers.
Sitting inside Jess Gleeson’s Man In Motion (Casey Hunter) when they jumped, Liberty Blue – seemingly benefitting from the inside gate – hit the front with 700m to go and was never headed.
He was able to turn the tables on stablemate Harpuna (Paul Denton), who ran second, with Leah Walling-Denton’s wonderful 10-year-old mare Roughly (Phillip Crich) edging out Gleeson’s Sedona (Wayne Davis) and Greg Connor’s Bar Gem (Dan Morgan) for third place.
Alice Springs R3 replay | October 8, 2022 | Liberty Blue (1st)
Concerned that Liberty Blue may not be able to lead or that he may get boxed in and not get a run when it mattered, Wiseman settled in front and according to the hoop he travelled beautifully.
Although Wiseman would prefer to start from a bad gate, Liberty Blue is having the time of his life no matter if draws the inside, the middle of the pack or an outside gate.
No doubt Liberty Blue, who can be cantankerous and is indeed a handful during track work, is in career best form and Wiseman believes Whittle may back him up in open company over 1100m on October 29.
“At the moment I’d say Lisa is just playing it by how the horse is going and how the horse is feeling, so once he tells us he’s had enough I’m sure he’ll go to the paddock for a little bit and come back again,” Wiseman said.
Not only does Wiseman have a high opinion of Whittle, but there’s clearly a strong rapport between jockey and trainer.
“Lisa’s always sort of been pretty free with me with all her horses,” Wiseman said.
“She normally just lets me ride them where I find them and have the horses happy.
“So she never really gives me any instructions, which is nice.
“She has faith in me, I guess, and she was very happy with Liberty Blue.”
Apart from Liberty Blue and Harpuna finishing first and second in the feature race, Whittle also managed a quinella with Harbour Express (Paul Denton) and The Chaplain (Jessie Philpot) at BM54 level over 1200m.
She also finished the five-event program with a second with Drawn To Win (Denton) in a 1000m maiden and a third with Winter Harbour (Wiseman) at 0-58 level over 1600m.
For Whittle, Liberty Blues’ success would evoke memories from 2016 when Desert Lashes won her first five races at Pioneer Park and then her next three at Morphettville before going on to forge a respectable career for trainers Shayne Cahill in SA and Tony McEvoy in Victoria.
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