Silent but Deadly: two winning hits

A busy week of runners across New South Wales produced two cracking winners for Team Pfieffer, breaking a four week drought of placings for the stable at Muswellbrook and Newcastle.

Racing competitively at stakes level and taking horses across the miles to country and provincial tracks each week, Pfieffer Racing had reason for celebration at last when 4yo gelding Silent Missile recorded his first win over 1280m at Muswellbrook on Friday for Greg Ryan.

In a nervous few moments for connections, Silent Missile looked set to erupt prematurely in the mounting yard as horses became fractious and subsequently stirred the son of Not A Single Doubt into a lathered sweat before the race.

The gelding fired out of the gates and rolled forward to sit outside the leaders before hitting the front at the 600m mark and finding enough to hold off the challenge of Dancing Jill by a neck.

“He lead all the way in the straight and I thought he was a beaten horse, but to his credit he toughed the win out” said trainer David Pfieffer.

“He got a bit fractious in the yard and was fired up by the loose horse but he had enough in the tank to win and win well”.

Winning jockey Greg Ryan echoed the trainer in assessing the gelding’s gutsy performance.

“When (Dancing Jill) headed him I thought he was gone for all money but he fought back well and won” said Ryan.

“He raced like there is plenty more improvement in him”.

Just a day later Moving Target hit the board with his maiden win in the 1350m NSF Super Plate at Newcastle thanks to a gun ride by talented apprentice Lester Grace.

Sent to lead early Grace rated the chestnut perfectly at the front and had him settled beautifully into a rhythm passing the 1000m mark. By the time the field turned for home Moving Target was able to capitalise on his easy lead and stretch clear to win by a length with race favourite Mr Schultz and Manhattan Road filling the placings.

“He settled beautifully in the run and under that great ride by Lester Grace was able to sprint well and take the race” described Pfieffer.

The duo of winners was to provide the opening act before Pfieffer’s golden girls Cradle Me and Denmagic took centre stage at the Hawkesbury stand-alone meeting.

Poor luck in running forced Cradle Me into an impossible position in her disappointing 11th in the Godolphin Crown after a torrid run from barrier 13.

Promising filly Denmagic fared better in barrier 3, jumping nicely to settle well in the race before producing her trademark finish to run a gallant second in the Group 3 Hakwesbury Guineas behind Spill the Beans, in a track record-breaking edition of the 1400m feature.

“I was really happy with the way she settled today” commented the trainer.

“She got shuffled back a little as runners sorted themselves out early but she attacked the line well...it took a colt to run a track record to beat her”.

The Denman filly has been racing with incredible consistency in stakes grade contests over the Autumn Carnival despite drawing wide barriers and experiencing checkered passages in running.

After a bumper week of trials and runners the first week of May sees a quiet week at the stables with Pfieffer planning his next assault on the Scone carnival the following week, where talented Star Witness filly Dixie Chick looks set to return in the CL2 Handicap over 1300m on Friday of the celebrated festival.