The Spring Carnival continued to wind down on Saturday, with Sandown getting their day in the spotlight with Zipping Classic Day.
The 2400m feature race was taken out by Beautiful Romance, which at first looked in thrilling circumstances, but later it turned out to be controversial given that jockey Glyn Schofield struck the mare with the whip four more times than allowed prior to the 100m mark.
You will read more about that in the piece I wrote regarding the whip rule.
She clung on to beat Almooonqith, who was ridden a treat by Oliver, and really it deserved the win but was nabbed in the last hop. Big Orange, who was also hit with the whip excessively, ran third and that trio cleared right out from the three year old So Si Bon, who was the inferior ground, while Who Shot Thebarman raced liked a tired horse.
Morton’s Fork capped off a very good spring with an unbelievable performance to take out the Sandown Guineas (1600m). Craig Williams was caught wide on the three year old early before easing back for cover into the strong breeze. The pace was an absolute crawl, so he had to take off a tad earlier than normal, and was forced widest on the turn. Had no right to win but he grabbed the previously unbeaten Ruthven in the last stride. He was the sole horse to break 45 for the final 800m. It was a brilliant win.
Ruthven lost no admirers in defeat, while Jennifer Lynn, who ran her race in patches, looked the winner with around 150m to go but just couldn’t quite finish it off. Faraway Town dashed up nearer the inside and looked a threat, but that wasn’t the A ground to be and she plugged on for fourth. But what I will say is follow the Carbine Club.
I am convinced we will see multiple Group 1 wins coming from that race. Morton’s Fork could be one of those.
The other feature on the day was the Kevin Heffernan (1300m) and it was really good to see Lucky Hussler back into the winners list. I couldn’t have him on form, but in hindsight, as he is getting older, I think he is looking for 1400m and perhaps the mile. The step up in trip and significant drop in class suited, aided by a brilliant steer from Brad Rawiller, who saved all the ground and dashed up inside Illustrious Lad to win.
He is a horse that you could have a lot of fun with. Perhaps a freshen up towards Tassie or a proper spell and target the Orr/Futurity. That pair cleared right out from Super Cash, who did a very good job in defeat given the slow tempo was clearly against her.
The two other points to perhaps discuss from the meeting was the win of Redkirk Warrior in the Sandown Stakes (1500m). I think the talk of him being a Group 1 horse has to be reserved big time. He did have a 5kg weight pull on the runner up, who was totally out of form prior, and the third horse is eligible still for provincials. Handy horse yes, but not Group 1, not from what I’ve seen.
The other was the ride of the day, clearly from Michelle Payne on Husson Eagle in the Doveton Stakes (1000m). I’m not alone when saying that the way she has handled herself hasn’t been great in recent times with the dual license drama NSW. However, when it comes to riding, she is seeing them beautifully and is one of the best in the business in saving ground on a shifty track and finding a successful path.
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