Work the Room 20/05/09

Work The Room Ready To Zip At Sandown
The Colin Little-trained debut winner Work The Room has much to live up to but is off to a good start as he prepares for a city success at only his second start.
The Bel Esprit gelding is a half-brother to multi-million dollar winner Zipping and will be the headline runner at Wednesday's Sandown meeting in the Flying Spur Handicap (1300m).
Work The Room has taken time to get to the races but the three-year-old was a stunning winner when he started odds-on at Ballarat earlier this month.
He came from well back in the field to beat Royal Doctor by a length with the best of the rest nearly six lengths further back.
Little said that while Work The Room won over 1100 metres he shaped as a horse who would get much further.
"He is a long, rangy horse and we always envisaged him staying," Little said.
"He got back to nearly last at Ballarat and we rode him like that on purpose to try and teach him to relax and get home."
Work The Room cost $160,000 at the Sydney Easter Yearling Sales but Little said he was "very soft" as a two-year-old and it was not long before his joints blew up.
"He's a pretty solid horse now but still mentally immature," Little said.
Bel Esprit's progeny are having a successful season and Work The Room is a great chance to give the noted sprinting sire a quality stayer.
Work The Room's dam Social Scene is a half-sister to three stakeswinning stayers including European champion Scorpion.
She is noted for producing Zipping, by Danehill, who has won 12 races including two Sandown Classics. He also finished second in last year's Cox Plate and has twice finished fourth in the Melbourne Cup.
Little expects Work The Room will run well at Sandown in a race he sees as another progressive step for the gelding.
"We have always had a fairly big opinion of him and if he is anywhere near right he should be able to step up to a race in town midweek," Little said.
"He's a sound horse and if we can teach him to get out to a trip he's got great potential."

7. Work The Room (AUS) [2005]Colin LittleBel Esprit (AUS) - Social Scene (IRE)Last Run: BRAT 1/05/2009 Homestead Carpets Mdn PlateSold $160000, Little, Colin W VIC at William Inglis and Son Ltd. 2007 Australian Easter Yearling by Amarina Farm, Denman
Siblings
ZIPPING (AUS) [2001] - DANEHILL (USA)12w-8p-35s $2,242,400Race: 1200-3200m Won: 1300-2500m Wet: 1w-2p-3sG1 0w-3p-11s, G2 3w-2p-8s, LR 2w-0p-5s
KANETOSHI PEKO (AUS) [2002] - FUSAICHI PEGASUS (USA)0w-0p-1sRace: 1000-1000m Won: 0-0m Wet: 0w-0p-0s
REGREAGAN (AUS) [2003] - ENCOSTA DE LAGO (AUS)1w-0p-5s $37,200Race: 1100-1600m Won: 1100-1100m Wet: 0w-0p-1sG2 0w-0p-1s, LR 0w-0p-1s
WINSOME CHARM (USA) [2005] - SILVER CHARM (USA)0w-0p-1sRace: 1200-1200m Won: 0-0m Wet: 0w-0p-0s