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A solid pace over a distance short of his best was the catalyst for Liapari’s return to the winner’s circle in the Civic Stakes at Rosehill.
One of four runners for premier Sydney trainer Chris Waller in yesterday’s 1350m listed race, Liapari was the longest priced of the quartet at $41.
Punters came for Jungle Edge, backing him from $5.50 to $4.60 favourite. As usual, Jungle Edge assumed control and led with 200m sectional times of 12 seconds.
Dreamforce ($7) was one who appreciated the tempo but, just when he looked the winner, Liapari came over the top of him to win by a half-head. Flow ($5) finished another 1-and-a-half lengths back in third with Jungle Edge fourth under his 61kg.
Waller said his confidence grew at the 400m when he could see Liapari, whose last win was in July last year, start working into the race.
‘‘I was getting confident at that point because there was plenty of speed on,’’ Waller said. ‘‘It was a high-pressure race. They were flying and it set it up for the back-markers. Jungle Edge is a good horse and you know when he is in the race the speed is on.’’
Liapari was ridden by Jay Ford, who brought up his ninth winner since Karavali won at Randwick a week earlier.
‘‘Jay is a good rider and at light weights there will be a few more opportunities around the corner for him,’’ Waller said.
Ford said the race could not have worked out better for Liapari.
‘‘He appreciated the good tempo,’’ he said. ‘‘We were able to cut through on the turn and then I was able to expose him halfway up the straight. He really surged to the line the last 150 metres.’’ – Caryl Williamson, AAP