It’s Queensland’s time to shine with Group 1 racing at the moment, but this Saturday will be a little darker due to the passing of popular Sydney trainer Guy Walter.
Walter took out the Group 1 Doomben Cup less than a week ago with his hardy mare Streama, a horse that delivered him a swan song victory at the highest level before his untimely passing.
Like Streama, Walter’s horses were known for their resilience, and ability to stay at the top of their game over multiple seasons.
Spinning Hill and Defier were my two of my favourite horses in my very early days following the sport, both prepared by Guy Walter before I had any idea who the master handler was.
Spinning Hill was a grand sprinting mare that relished racing in Melbourne, while Defier was as a reliable top-class middle-distance horse that was only defied two Cox Plates by a couple of horses that won two each themselves – Northerly and Fields of Omagh.
If there wasn’t a saying along the lines of, ‘never leave a Guy Walter roughie in a Stakes race out of your quaddie’, then there should have been one, especially after his superstar mare Appearance made a habit of winning big races at big odds. He knew how to get a horse to peak for the big occasion like few before him.
The Doomben 10,000 attracts a consistently high-quality field year after year, more so than any race in Queensland. It usually takes a very good or great horse to win it.
The BTC Cup is the clear and obvious lead-in race, and the first six home from it are all engaged again here.
Famous Seamus won that race as a $21 chance, jumping out of the ground in the last furlong to get passed odds-on favourite Buffering and just holding out Spirit of Boom.
Famous Seamus will be a third of those odds this time around, and now that he’s got that crucial weight-for-age breakthrough, he might just go on with it. He had run a WFA third earlier in the prep, behind Villa Verde and Snitzerland, so it wasn’t a complete fluke.
Spirit of Boom is the definition of the testing material in sprint races these days – whatever beats him, and it will generally only be one, wins. Michael Rodd was convinced he would have won the BTC Cup if he himself had steered a different course, and both will get their chance to atone here.
Getting out to the 1350-metre trip will suit him more than any other.
Buffering will likely jump as favourite again, and is still a live chance to breakthrough for a maiden Group 1 victory in his home state, despite being slightly disappointing last time out.
Tiger Tees isn’t here this time around, so he should get his favoured lead uncontested, and will always be a chance to out-tough the rest in that situation, doubly so if the track plays leaderish like it did last week.
Temple of Boom ran an honest fourth behind the place-getters, but just didn’t quite have the class on the day, and may struggle to again beat them all. Hot Snitzel found the jump to weight-for-age racing beyond him, as did Peron, but neither have lost any admirers for when they take on something easier.
Rebel Dane comes in with a month between races, unable to back up his TJ Smith second with the win that most expected in the All-Aged Stakes, running a battling fifth in a modest field.
His jockey, Glen Boss, never misses a chance to talk him up, and the punters generally don’t miss him either, and haven’t again. He’s currently a $4 chance. He’s a quality horse that still has something to prove at this level, and Barrier 10 of 11 won’t make it easy.
Knoydart was all the rage in the Hall Mark Stakes last start, taken out by Hot Snitzel, after consecutive placings behind Lankan Rupee and Spirit of Boom in the two big Melbourne autumn handicaps.
He meets Hot Snitzel and Spirit of Boom worse at the weights for all of those defeats, so it’s hard to see him turning the tables here.
Driefontein and Conservatorium both ran down the track in the Goodwood, and are looking to respond here. The former did win the Group 1 Sangster the start prior, so can be forgiven, while the latter relished the Queensland sun last winter, albeit off better South Australian form.
Scream Machine is a three-time winner over 2000 metres, but will be kept to sprint-mile trips this campaign, and has always appealed as a stylish horse who might have a say at Group level, but he’s run into a strong one this time.
Selections:
1. Spirit of Boom
2. Buffering
3. Temple of Boom
4. Rebel Dane
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