He admitted the owners had lost a bit of patience with the maiden after 12 starts for two minor placings.
Then with his own words still ringing in his ears he watched Modernistic go out and win the $35,000 Two Tarts Maiden Plate over 2100m at Echuca racecourse yesterday.
A Ballarat meeting transferred here at the last minute on Thursday, the trip north from Melbourne to Echuca racecourse has also turned Sadler into a new ambassador for Echuca-Moama tourism.
“We came up here last night (Saturday) and stayed in Moama – it’s our first time here,” Sadler said.
“I came across here this morning and walked the track – it was the first time I have been on it and gee it’s a good racecourse,” he said.
“I mean there’s no excuses on this track, and the condition of the grass, seeing the track has had quite a hammering from transferred meetings, it’s just a credit to the curator, it is in great order.
“Echuca-Moama is just a beautiful spot, a terrific spot, the weather up here is great and I can highly recommend it – I am standing here in a short sleeve shirt, the weather is fabulous and the whole facility is really top class.”
Then he got back to the business of selling the maiden Modernistic.
“Yes, he’s on the market – today is his last start for us, win, lose or draw – and today looks like the race for him,” Sadler added.
“I think he’s fit and well, the ground shouldn’t worry him and he gets his chance today and there’s no problem with his coming back to 2100 instead of the 2400 it would have been in Ballarat.”
When Modernistic threw a shoe on its way to the barrier and had to be replated there Sadler still found something to laugh about.
“You never like that happening, it’s a pain in the butt,” he conceded.
“But I will be speaking to my farrier in the morning,” he laughed.
When the field jumped Modernistic quickly took up the running behind the pacemaker It Will Happen and by the time they reached the 1400m mark they were all just bowling along.
There was no real pressure during the middle stages and as they hit the 600m jockey Jamie Mott put the question to the race favourite and it ranged up to the leader.
But when It Will Happen led them into the straight it appeared nothing might happen for anyone else as it skipped clear and headed for home.
“I thought from the top of the straight to the 100m mark that we were in trouble and I had to pull out all stops to get him going,” Mott explained.
“The leader had kicked well at the turn and I wasn’t sure we were going to pick it up and by the time we had fought him off I could feel the second horse coming,” he said. “And I was pretty sure he was coming quicker than the post and was going to run over the top of us but I got stuck into Modernistic and he was able to fight them off.”
The win completed an early double for Mott, who had earlier won the $35,000 bet365 Plate over 1000 with Young Harry Cool.
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