17-05-2025
Clayton Douglas praises Tom Prebble ride on $71 outsider Title Fighter in Straight Six at Flemington
Punters wouldn't have enjoyed the race but apprentice Tom Prebble won't forget Saturday's Listed Straight Six (1200m) at Flemington.
Prebble continued a terrific day for bookmakers when he posted his first stakes win aboard the $71 chance Title Fighter in the $175,000 feature.
Most punters expected the Grahame Begg-trained King Zephyr to stretch his winning streak to five but their hopes were gone at the halfway point as the $1.80 favourite struggled in the deteriorating ground.
Trainer Clayton Douglas said Prebble rightly went early to challenge the leaders on Title Fighter before the sprinter held on to beat fellow roughie Deekay ($26) and former Singapore star Lim's Kosciuszko ($12).
The young rider was thrilled to notch his first stakes win, especially as his father, former champion international jockey Brett Prebble, was on course.
The apprentice, who was unable to use his claim in the Straight Six, winning his maiden stakes contest was only part of his bigger plans.
Good work if you found Title Fighter at $69! 🫨
Title Fighter wins the Straight Six at Flemington in the pouring rain! @c_douglasracing @thomas_prebble
â€' 7HorseRacing ðŸ�Ž (@7horseracing) May 17, 2025
'I just see every race as the next and I want to win all of them,' Prebble said.
'When I got the opportunity to ride in a Listed race, I just took the opportunity. It unfolded awesomely.
'When I was travelling on the back of (Lim's) Kosciuszko, I knew being a class horse, when I was going better than him, I had to push the button.'
Douglas, who himself rode successfully on the flat and over jumps before taking to training, said Prebble rode Title Fighter perfectly.
'I couldn't have asked for a better ride,' Douglas said.
'He rode him terrific.
'He's got a big future, this kid.'
Douglas said Title Fighter went around over the odds considering the son of Lean Mean Machine had little luck in the Listed Wangoom Handicap at Warrnambool at his previous outing.
'He's a quirky horse,' Douglas said.
'You just need to get the first furlong right, then he's right.
'We drew the outside gate today so it worked out perfectly.'
Title Fighter's shock win went a little way to easing the disappointment of stable star Giga Kick's third-placed run in last Saturday's Group 1 Goodwood in Adelaide.
