Kahlisee wins impressively on debut at Eagle Farm

For the first time this season, the Les Ross / Mishani Enterprises stranglehold on the early two-year-old races of the season in Queensland was broken by the Chris Munce trained Kahlisee at Eagle Farm on Saturday, but halfway up the home straight Ross would have been forgiven if he had rubbed his hands together in anticipation of another satisfying result for the stable.

Ross’s stable had supplied the trifecta in the Pat O’Shea Plate, the first two-year-old of the season in Queensland back on September 23, with Mishani Rock, a $26 winner with Ladbrokes, Mishani Ego and Mishani Fire putting their numbers in the frame … and he then produced the two-year-old race winner again last week with the $16 outsider Mishani Lily who most online bookie apps gave no chance … and, at one stage, it looked like a third, successive Saturday two-year-old success was very much on the cards for the sky blue and white silks carrying team.

Certainly, the strategy was free of complication … go forward and take no prisoners was the obvious gameplan and Mishani Storm and Mishani Fire chased into a one-two position respectively from the break and maintained those positions at a healthy gallop all the way to the home straight.

On straightening the Mishani duo still held a useful advantage with those runners closest to them struggling to make up the deficit, but, way back in the pack, Kahlisee was about to spoil the party and she did so with some aplomb, coming from as much as seven lengths off the speed at one stage and producing a sustained finish to rattle past the Ross trained runners to score by half-a-length from Mishani Storm.

Interestingly enough, almost as if Mishani Storm had heard Kahlisee coming or was starting to feel the coming windburn, Mishani Storm turned his head to one side inside the final 150m seemingly disrupting his own rhythm … not that it would have made a difference to the result as Samantha Collett drove Kahlisee to a decisive victory, particularly impressing with the way she picked up the pace when asked for her finishing effort and with her commitment to the cause in what was quite a long chase.

Trainer Chris Munce was thrilled win Kahlisee’s debut effort, admitting that his instinct had prompted him to go against the set of rules he normally sets for himself.

“I went against three of my rules today,” stated Munce. “Number one – I never run my two-year-olds off one trial. Number two she drew terribly. Number three she didn’t look like one of my horses in the parade ring. I said to the owners, this is either going to end up good or a disaster.

‘I rode her on Monday morning. I couldn’t believe the way she went, so I thought, on that, I’ve got to run her. The two-year-old races haven’t been that strong, so I thought I’d roll the dice. She was going to trial on Tuesday anyway, so it was a barrier trial with prize-money.

“I’ve got to give credit to young Tahia Fenlon (Munce’s apprentice) who trialled her for me. She did a terrific job educated her, got her in behind and taught her to relax. When I galloped her on Monday it was just a push-button gallop.

“She’ll improve a lot out of that.”

And, finally, a special word for Samantha Collett who guided Kahlisee to victory.

One week ago, Collett had guided the Ross trained Mishani Lily to an end-to-end victory, keeping the speedy, chestnut filly going just long enough to secure the win and, this week, she produced Kahlisee from well back to claim the lion’s share of the prize.

Like Ross, Collett has now won two of the three two-year-old races contested in Queensland this season employing two entirely different strategies, a set of results which stands as a testament to her ability in the saddle as two-year-olds are not always the easiest of horses to ride.