Oh how sweet it was. Vancouver proved himself as the best two-year-old in the country with a devastating win in the world’s richest race for juveniles, the Golden Slipper (1200m).
He’s a great horse, but I can’t speak highly enough of the ride from Tommy Berry. He dug the colt out, sent him forward and was able to get in three deep with cover.
He travelled very sweetly in the run and when presented he looked as if he was going to go bang, but the stablemate English cruised up and looked as if he was going to go straight past Vancouver. In the end the big brut kicked into another gear and showed the good old Tulloch Lodge ‘Bone and Muscle’ and proved far too good.
Lake Geneva ran an enormous race for third, but all you can say is that Vancouver was too good. And Gai Waterhouse is a genius.
Volkstok’n’barrell confirmed himself as the best three-year-old in New Zealand and Australian Derby favouritism with an outstanding win in the Rosehill Guineas (2000m). He was put in a beaut spot by Craig Williams and was presented at the right time.
He took his time to wear down Preferment, who was ridden more aggressively, and nabbed him right on the peg. Hallowed Crown sat back, pinched inside runs and battled on for third.
Sweynesse was given every chance, but he really plodded in the run home. He isn’t a 2000m horse. As for the winner, on paper he does look the one to beat in the Derby, but it is very hard to win the Guineas-Derby double. The horse with the upside is Preferment. He will love the rise to 2400m and getting to a bigger track like Randwick.
If you thought Catkins deserved a Group 1, you surely had to think about Sweet Idea and the great races she has run at the top level without winning. Well, she had her time in the sun with a dominant win in the Galaxy (1100m), sitting wide with cover before unleashing a brilliant turn of foot to win.
Kuro did a great job to run second ahead of ‘Barbie’, Miracles Of Life. I’m prepared to forgive the mare I liked, Avoid Lightning, who bombed the start and was never in the hunt. I can’t believe why people launched into Deep Field. He was disappointing last Saturday, he had gate 17 and was pretty poorly weighted considering his record. They tried blinkers with him, and it simply backfired. His value as a stallion is quickly diminishing.
He might have had a dirty result in the Slipper, but James McDonald got his second Group 1 win in the George Ryder Stakes (1500m), rolling along in front at a good tempo, then showing great fight late to fend off Criterion, who is ticking over beautifully for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m).
Kermadec was again enormous in defeat, though this time it was from his own doing, missing the start badly. Shooting To Win was pretty plain after getting a soft run, while Cosmic Endeavour was outside a good speed and punctured badly in the run home. Criterion is definitely the one to follow.
Contributer stamped himself as the best WFA horse in Australia with a dominant win in the Ranvet Stakes (2000m). James McDonald had the horse in the second half of the field, with a slow pace being set by the Kiwi, Fast Dragon.
That was until the 800m mark when Brenton Avdulla on Fast Dragon took off, went for home and set up a lead of about six lengths on the turn, which left the likes of Tosen Stardom, Lucia Valentina and Silent Achiever off the bit, but Contributer was smoking the pipe and he just glided up near the inside, shoved into the clear and burst away to win easily.
Don’t drop off Tosen Stardom from a Queen Elizabeth point of view, because he was up near the speed and it was his first run in Oz. The one negative I have on the race is the post race antics from McDonald, giving Tommy Berry a decent look a few strides after greeting the judge.
He did it last week when he steered Target In Sight to beat Deep Field, a horse he won on previously and trained by Team Hawkes. That one was a bit cheeky and understandable. The one on Saturday was cocky borderline smart arse, and there is no need for it at all.
Three horses to follow from Rosehill
1. Shamlia
2. Sweet Idea
3. Kermadec
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