Feeling the pressure despite long odds

IT’S hard to imagine the pressure to win is strong when you’re driving one of the outsiders of the field.

Yet that’s exactly how Emmett Brosnan found himself before the opening race in Ballarat tonight.

Brosnan was set to drive Homonym, which he co-trains with his father Richard.

Having her second start, Homonym finished towards the tail of the field – beaten 124 metres – after galloping around the final bend at Tabcorp Park Melton upon debut.

“She broke on the last turn, which was just immaturity,” Brosnan explained. “She’s still green and it was an experience thing.”

On the strength of the inglorious beginning to her career Homonym was a $46.40 shot on the Tote this time around.

But what could make Brosnan feel a sense of pressure?

“I thought she’d be a chance, but Dad said if she didn’t gallop she would win,” Brosnan said. “He told the owners that too which put the pressure on me.

“If she didn’t gallop in Melton I reckon she could have run a placing.

“This time she had more focus and that showed at the end.”

Given time to settle into her stride, Homonym was positioned towards the tail of the field from her inside of the second row draw as Cork, Aldebaran Knox and Van Sank took turns at leading.

Angled three-wide along the back straight, the daughter of Majestic Son maintained a strong sprint to score by two-and-a-half metres from Van Sank.

Sierra Kea was a metre-and-a-half away third in 2:04.8 over 2200 metres.

“She seems better suited at this point to being wound up rather than having a quick sprint which is why I went when I did,” Brosnan said.

“She felt strong all the way and got to the line well.”