Sixth win for I Can Too at Cambridge

By Jordyn Bublitz 

After doing it the hard way in transit, there was plenty to like about the victory of I Can Too in Thursday night’s Beta Vet South of the Bombay’s Mobile Pace at Cambridge Raceway.

The son of Art Major overcame barrier eight and a tough early run to take out the $25,000 feature.

From the outside draw, driver Zachary Butcher wasted little time making his intentions clear, pressing forward early despite being forced to sit three-wide and then parked through the opening stages. Eventually working around to find the lead near the mile mark, I Can Too then sustained a strong tempo for the remainder of the journey.

It proved no issue for the tough gelding, who secured his sixth win from 58 starts.

Despite appearing to knock off slightly when he kicked clear turning for home, I Can Too found again when challenged late, sticking on gamely to score by three quarters of a length in the feature event.

The victory was a deserved result for a horse who had been racing consistently in recent weeks. Prior to his last-start standing start mishap, where he missed away at his first attempt from the tapes, the gelding had been putting together a string of honest performances and consistently earning cheques.

For Doody, the win was another satisfying result with a horse who continues to front up every time he steps onto the track.

“He’s done a great job. I was really pleased,” said Doody.

“Zach said he knocked off a wee bit after he kicked clear, but he got going again really good!”

“I thought the draw was going to be a disadvantage, but Zach just took it into his own hands and pressed on.”

“He’s come through the run outstanding.”

The Palmerston North trainer has long been known for keeping a small but competitive team in work, and with racing in the central districts beginning to quieten down, Cambridge’s increased stakes are likely to keep attracting horses from further south.

“Since there’s going to be some $15,000 races at Cambridge I’ll probably try to keep my team rolling for a bit, I tend to have about seven in work.”

Among those in the stable, one younger horse has particularly caught the experienced horseman’s attention.

“There’s a couple of nice ones there actually, Takethat, who won his first start here at Palmy is a bloody nice horse. I’ll give him a start at Cambridge and see how he goes.”

While Takethat may be one for the future, I Can Too is proving more than capable of making the most of his current opportunities. Still only a rating 49 horse despite Thursday night’s success, Doody believes there should continue to be suitable races available for the gelding throughout the winter months.

“I’ll have to have a look at the programming, he’s only a rating 49 so he should get a few good runs in at Cambridge over the winter.”

After Thursday night’s performance, few could argue the gelding hasn’t earned them.