I’ll start this review by mentioning the win of Longhorseman in last Wednesdays’ Balaklava Cup.
He is a horse that showed enormous promise in Brisbane early on in his career with his barnstorming finishes from well back in the field.
He was then transferred to Tony McEvoys’ stable in Sydney, racing around in small fields and up on the pace. That may not have suited him and his first run down in South Australia prior to this race saw him relax beautifully (head on chest), right on the pace, but he disappointed in the run home to finish third, but only half a length from the winner. He might have needed that run after having over a month between starts.
In this race he drew wide in a big field, and the decision was made to ride him conservatively. He got back to last on a fast pace, and again relaxed beautifully in the run.
Make no mistake this was a big win, because at the 200m his jockey had a lap full of horse. At that point he had nowhere to go and he had to change course to the inside of horses, but from that point it was exhilarating to watch as he sprinted away, gapping his rivals in the process. This wasn’t a bad field and he made them look like second raters, finally showing his true potential.
Surely similar tactics will be employed in the future. he could be a real chance in a race like the Toorak or Moonee Valley Crystal Mile, if either is on the agenda, but he next races in the Penang Trophy (aka Tokyo City Cup) at Morphettville in a couple of weeks time. He should be very hard to beat there.
Panzer Division produced the run of the weekend to my mind. This is a three year old who had been dodging wet tracks, but trainer Paul Messara has had to run him during Sydneys’ big wet to get some fitness into him. He clearly didn’t enjoy the going but annihilated his opposition, and ran a second faster than the older horses in the Tramway.
I already had this horse in my Blackbook for the fast time he ran on debut, and I just can’t wait to see him on a dry surface. That may come in this weekend’s Golden Rose dependent on how he has come through this run on a testing surface. Keep in mind he should just about be unbeaten, given that hugely controversial photo decision 2 weeks ago, when his stablemate Scissor Kick declared the winner, but half the world thought the photo showed a dead heat!
Alberto Magic won Race four at Newcastle on Saturday over 900m. I doubt I have ever seen an easier win in my life to be honest, and it was reminiscent of his debut win at Canberra by nine lengths where he ran sensational time (comparatively) with a last 600m sectional of 33.33 over 1000m.
This margin was six lengths, on a heavy surface he might well have struggled on, given a defeat on a slow track at his last run before a break. It could have been double that margin, of that there is no doubt. At his second race start he beat a horse called In Cahoots, who was recently runner up to Terravista at Group 3 level in the Show County at Randwick.
That horse is also a listed winner of the Gosford Guineas, and was also placed behind Sidestep in the Royal Sovereign Stakes at Group 3 level in the autumn. This horse looks just as promising and looks capable of winning a Group or listed race this Spring.
“The Shorts” at Randwick over 1100m would be perfect for him, given he should get in with a light weight.
His two dynamic wins thus far have been first up, so new trainer Allan Denham (formerly with Guy Walter) may need to space his runs, and that could be a bit tricky given he might need to win another race before he can be a guaranteed starter in a Group race.
The Tramway handicap at Randwick could be a super guide to the Spring with several good performances on display. None more so than the winner Lucia Valentina who finished like an ‘Exocet missile’ to win over the concluding stages. I have to say the win wasn’t a major surprise to me, but the manner of it was. Despite that I’m more inclined to choose Rising Romance as the horse to follow going forward.
These two NZ Mares are two all in their four meetings to date. There isn’t much between them but I just think LV was probably more ‘forward’ for this and is the better sprinter/miler of the two. She is also more adept on Heavy tracks. RR has won the AJC Oaks and had previously been very unlucky not to win the NZ Derby in the Autumn.
The run there was something to behold and I doubt I have seen a horse finish faster than that in a 2400m for a long, long time. She gets through wet tracks quite well but keep in mind she probably goes better on firmer tracks. That was the case in both the NZ Derby & AJC Oaks. The winner of the latter race in the Autumn have a poor record in the Melbourne Group 1 staying races, but I reckon she might be an exception and will be a major chance in the Caulfield Cup.
Brisbane horse Lucky Tom is another I have had Blackbooked for some time after an easy win in good time at the Sunshine Coast, four starts ago. He then came to Eagle Farm and did exactly the same running fast time (again), decimating a decent field at big odds. He was then spelled and returned with a good third to the very smart Pienkna (runs next Saturday at Flemington) in excellent time.
He would have won on Saturday at Doomben, but for being caught wide throughout. In both his recent runs he hasn’t been able to lead as he did in the two wins prior. He is off to Melbourne for the Caulfield Guineas and just might surprise a few people, particularly if he can dominate from the front. It will be interesting to see how he measures up, because it seems we have a very strong three year old crop this spring.
St Jean was one Blackbooker I failed to mention in my weekend preview. I actually thought the 1600m race he won at Moonee Valley on the weekend would be too short, but he proved me all wrong. He was very impressive after getting back early, and has now proven he can win from off the pace, which I didn’t envisage happening short of 2000m.
This horse showed great tenacity at a middle distance last preparation when ridden on the pace, and he did win his Maiden in Ireland over 2400m by 16 lengths, so I’m really looking forward to seeing him get to that distance this spring. The signs are really good in regard to him stepping up to the next level, given he is running so well at these shorter distances this spring
Foreteller was an eye catcher again in the Dato Chin Nam Stakes, but gee this seemed a weak rendition of that race. That point seems valid given that two horses that are better known as handicappers provided the Quinella. The overall time was slightly better than that of St Jean at the same distance, but the last 600m was inferior to that lower class race. The overall ‘adjusted’ time of three year old Caveka in race three over 1500m was also superior to this race. That said the performance of Foreteller was meritorious to say the least, given how conservative the ride was, and how far back he was just before the turn.
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