Curtain Closes In On Bold Trease Glory
It is often said that success comes with the perfect blend of youth and experience. That may well be the scenario when Longwarry mentor David Curtain rugs up Coulta Rock for the 2014 Group One Bold Trease final on Friday night.
The son of Velocette and Coulta Sally (Go Forever – Coulta Tess) is just 27-months old and will line up in the top level final after only hitting the track early in 2014. Curtain on the other hand, describes himself as quite the opposite when it comes to experience.
“He is the youngest dog in the race and I think I might be the oldest trainer in the race,” he told ARG.
A closer examination of the bloodlines of Coulta Rock could have many scratching their heads as to how he ended up over the longer trips.
His mother, Coulta Sally, was a winner of 26 races only two of which were beyond 440 metres but, as Curtain explains, there was a method in the way that Coulta Rock was bred.
“We went to Velocette hoping to get a bit of strength, as you know, you try these things in breeding and it doesn't always work out but it certainly has with this litter.”
“If you look at this race and the recent Hume Cup, a lot of the runners were either by Velocette or Bekim Bale.”
Coulta Rock has had 35 career starts to date which have yielded 10 wins and 13 minor placings so he is never too far away from the major end of the spoils.
It was only in February, eight short months ago, that He landed his maiden win at his first race track appearance. At that stage, one could have been excused for thinking that he was going to follow in the footsteps of his zippy dam.
“He won first up in his maiden which was only over 390 metres at Shepparton.”
But since that time, Coulta Rock, along with his two littermates Coulta Tiger and Coulta Mayham, have proven that they possess more than their share of strength.
“Coulta Rock has a lot of ability and is maturing quite nicely as a stayer, particularly considering he only turned two in August.”
“Both of his littermates have won over ground too. Coulta Mayham has won over 699 metres at Cranbourne and Coulta Tiger has won over 570 metres at Horsham.”
Curtain says he would have loved to race a few more progeny from Coulta Sally but due to a set of unfortunate circumstances, it is highly unlikely to occur.
“It is a bit of a shame but Rob Irvine, who has his mother, has not been too well and he has decided to stop breeding.”
Coulta Rock won his heat of the Bold Trease in an average 42.75 in a mixing affair. The time that was over a second outside the time standard set by Space Star, but it is not something that concerns Curtain too much.
“It was a pretty rough race last week so the time doesn't look too flash. I thought before the race that he could at least run a place but it was nice to win it.”
If there is supposed to be any pressure or weight of expectation around putting the polish on a Group One finalist, Curtain certainly is not showing it.
“There is no stress and no expectation, anything he does is a bonus, there is a bit of pace around him but hopefully he gets a clear run, that is all I can ask for.”
As for Coulta Rock's itinerary post Bold Trease, there is a race in late December that Curtain has his eyes set on.
“He trialled 34.22 over the 595 metres at Sandown and then I took him to Sale and put him over the 650 metres. He showed me enough in that run there for me to think about taking him back for the cup. That is more than likely part of his future plans.”
Coulta Rock will jump from box seven in the Bold Trease final on Friday night at Sandown Park.
The final is Race Six on the card and is scheduled to jump at 8:38pm.