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Find out what the jockeys made of their mounts after the $1,000,000 The Gong (1600m) at Kembla Grange.

Tim Clark (Riodini): “A real target race - third-up, mile, and got in really well at the weights. He’d had a good lead-up and he covered a bit of ground there but I guess today it hasn’t been the worst thing. He toughed it out really good at the end.

“Hope In Your Heart is a mare I’ve had a bit to do with, I know how talented she is and how well she is going, and I just felt inside the last 100m he really responded when he felt her coming.

“He’s been a long time out of the winner’s stall but it was good to see him back in form and getting a win because he’s been very honest. The Ingham in a few weeks, these races Gai and Adrian picked out for him suited perfectly for his program and there’s no reason why he can’t go on and be competitive in that race.”

Riodini wins The Gong

Jason Collett (Hope In Your Heart): “Her run was massive. She was working wide in the run, she probably found the firm nature of the track not to her liking but a nice effort.”

Tommy Berry (Old Flame): “I’m very proud of his effort. It was stop-start to get him into a good spot and he had his momentum taken away once he straightened but he rallied really strongly.”

Zac Lloyd (Wild Planet): “A very good run. I tried to roll with him and keep him happy and he stuck on well.”

Regan Bayliss (Brutality): “He was in the barriers a long time, one of the first ones in there and fell asleep in the barriers and didn’t step today. Still got an okay drag up from Hope In Your Heart and he finished off well but probably prefers the cut in the ground.”

Rachel King (Surf Dancer): “He’s gone okay, just the pressure came on earlier than I wanted.”

Brenton Avdulla (Rustic Steel): “I was on the back of the winner, I thought it was a matter of getting to the outside and he’d let go but he didn’t change up speed at all and I was a little disappointed with his last 50m.”

Winona Costin (Sky Lab): “He got home really nicely late after getting well back in the field.”

Chad Schofield (Oscar Zulu): “We had a good run from the draw, he was game.”

Reece Jones (Purple Sector): “I had a nice run just behind the speed but I thought he started to feel the track a bit.”

Kerrin McEvoy (Promise Of Success): “She ran a nice race, she got a good trail in behind them and angled into a spot to challenge behind the pace as we turned for home. Just levelled out the last bit but it was still a good run.”

Josh Parr (Kolding): “He didn’t begin well enough to take up the forward position we expected and we didn’t get into the race from there.”

Sam Clipperton (Berdibek): “I thought he ran well first-up, he ran out of room with 50m to go but he was peaking on his run. He ran well enough to suggest he’s in for a good preparation.”

Andrew Adkins (Love Tap): “It was a disaster from a wide draw, he was checked twice in the straight and he wasn’t able to run on.”

Jarrod Fry (Just Folk): “The track was a bit too firm, he wants more give out of the track.”

Dylan Gibbons (Parry Sound): “A better run than it looks, he just got smashed the whole way.”

Check out the replays and results from The Gong meeting at Kembla Grange