That's the way to do It!
Sun 09 Jul 2023
WINNER 60 OF 2023: THAT'S FOR SURE, trained by Karl Burke and ridden by Andrew Elliott: The feature £30,000 'Diff Ability 'Ability Over Disability' EBF Restricted Novice Stakes' (Qualifier) (Class 2) over 6f at Carlisle.
The 2 year old son of Unfortunately, was 3rd on debut at Hamilton on June 21st and here, in this valuable Class 2 feature, was reunited with Andrew Elliott. With four previous winners in the line up, this wasn't the only competition: The WEATHER was the other!! Thunderstorms and absolutely torrential rain began after the first race and everyone in the paddock took shelter - just the poor stable staff leading up were left out in it; the horses not bothered too much by it all!
As they made their way down to the start, it was difficult to see clearly, but you could make out the stalls at least. As the gates opened, he was slowly into stride and was a good 2 lengths behind the field. Making headway at the halfway point, he was asked to quicken at the 3 pole. He responded well and was ridden to lead over 1f out. Facing a challenge inside the final furlong, he ran on well and just did enough
Watch the full race replay here: https://www.racingtv.com/results/uk/452747-carlisle/08-Jul-2023/1822
There was no post race interview with Andrew, but at the end of the card, the Racing TV team did summarize each race and said: "This was a competitive race and a good quality field. That's For Sure took a big step forward from his 3rd on debut and it was a good performance to beat Jungle Mate who won first time out. The first three pulled away from the field and there were some nice types in this valuable race."
Timeform rated it as an 83+ performance, commenting: "Confirmed debut promise as he went 2 places better; slowly into stride, held up, good headway out wide over 2f out, led entering final 1f, stayed on well; likely to progress further."
See the official photo gallery here: https://www.grossick.co.uk/p/80532khg/C385582243/x2-that-s-for-sure
Syndicate manager Mike says: "I was impressed by that performance, having lost 2 lengths at the start. Coming around the field on the worst part of the track, he still managed to pull away with the eventual 2nd horse. A good ride by Andrew, as he didn't panic in the early part of the race and let the horse take him back into the pack. Congratulations to Karl on his 5-timer yesterday and for coming to me saying that he wanted to take this vaulable race in. Well done to his owners, especially those who stood out in the thunderstorm and driving rain to pat their horse and pose for photos! He has further good prize pots to chase with his existing entries, but Karl and I will make a plan for him for the rest of the season.”