An absolute belter of an afternoon of racing was seen at Rosehill and Flemington, highlighted by the stunning win of Brazen Beau in the Newmarket Handicap (1200m).
The ‘Magic Man’ Joao Moreira showed once again why he is clearly the best rider in the world with a beautiful steer on the three-year-old colt, who is worth up to $30 million.
He showed an electric turn of foot between the 400-200m, much like Lankan Rupee in this race last year. He beat home Chautauqua, who was simply outstanding in defeat, as was Terravista.
Lord Of The Sky had a soft lead and he stuck on well for fourth. Big flop was Lankan Rupee, who seemingly had every chance, but was a beaten horse 400m out. He will find it very hard to win the TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) on that effort.
Michael Walker has ridden for David Hayes and Tom Dabernig for a couple of seasons, but was yet to get a major, until the Australian Cup (2000m). He steered Spillway to a narrow win ahead of stablemate and veteran Extra Zero, who ran in the 2009 Australian Cup behind Zipping.
Happy Trails got too far back from a good draw and worked home very strongly for third.
Suavito defied a poor beginning and a more aggressive ride from Damien Oliver to win the Blamey Stakes (1600m), beating home a gallant Sertorius, who was great in his return to the track. Koukram had a cheap run on the rail and held on for third.
Smokin’ Joey was wide most of the way and can be forgiven for his fourth. Full marks to the winner. That’s four group wins on the bounce, and that is near impossible to do, especially during the spring-autumn.
Wawail was a touch disappointing in the Vanity (1400m), but a sit off the speed helped her gain another Stakes win with a gritty performance in the Kewney Stakes (1400m), fending off favourite Sabatini, who just got too far back from the gate. She was great in defeat.
Vezelay was ridden more aggressively from the wide gate and she stuck on well for third. I’m prepared to forgive Bottle Of Smoke, who got too far back at Caulfield, and I think Craig Newitt pushed it a tad too much here, sitting too close to the tempo.
Three Blackbookers From Flemington
1. Queen Of Wands
2. Red Cadeaux
3. Natuzzi
Linda Meech became the fourth female jockey in Australian racing history to win a Group 1 when she perfectly steered the Peter Moody-trained Plucky Belle in the feature race at Rosehill, the Coolmore Classic (1500m). She charging through between runners to grab hot pot First Seal right on the peg.
The runner-up was brave, sitting three deep for the entire race. But from a Doncaster Mile perspective, she won’t be winning. If she was to be a Doncaster horse she had to win this, and she didn’t. So I think the Vinery Stud Stakes (2000m) will be her go. Diamond Drille bounced back to some sort of form with her closing third, while Arabian Gold also caught the eye late.
It’s rare that you see a horse drop back to 1500m from 2000m in the space of six days, but trainer Bjorn Baker saw the lack of quality nominations for the Ajax Stakes and chucked in Canberra Cup runner-up Burbero.
After a brilliant ride from apprentice Brodie Loy, the gelding got the bob to win and nail Ninth Legion right on the peg. San Diego and Spy Decoder were warming up nicely late for third and fourth.
The hard luck story was Rudy. It was a combination of bad luck and a bad ride from the lad on the Villiers winner. Just had no hope from where he was and rightfully dropped out. First up run was too good to sack after one failure, so don’t drop off him yet. Remember that he will only carry 50.5 kilograms in the Doncaster and the bigger surroundings of Randwick will be more ideal.
Most expected Inner Circle to win the Pago Pago Stakes (1200m), but it was stablemate Tarquin, ridden by star international hoop William Buck, to get the bikkies in what looked to be a fairly ordinary edition of the Slipper lead up.
Rageese worked home strongly ahead of Odyssey Moon, who was ridden more positively today and stuck on well for third. Inner Circle ran fourth and seemingly had his chance.
Speak Fondly booked herself a start in the Golden Slipper (1200m) next week with a strong on speed win in the Magic Night Stakes (1200m), fending off all her rivals in the run home to win narrowly from Perignon and the unlucky Italy, who bungled the start.
The other unlucky runner was Always Allison, who got badly checked in the straight when making ground, but I doubt she would have troubled the winner, who did some early work, so full credit to her. But she won’t win the Slipper if Gai goes that way with her.
Three Blackbookers From Rosehill
1. Silverball
2. Opinion
3. Rudy
Adam Page
Roar Guru
If he wins at Royal Ascot, his value goes up to $40-$50 Million. Not bad for a $70,000 purchase
Scuba
Guest
She could be very good HRA - most of the Savabeels take a bit of time to come to hand so to do what she has done at starts 1 and 2 has been a surprise.
kv joef
Roar Guru
And what numbers would they be? Terravista gave Chau a 1L in weight and was beaten 0.5L. Seemed to me Dunn realised 'the horse had bolted' so to speak and timed his run to pass a tiring Terravista - don't think the big T will puff-out like that in the TJSmith. While i'm sure you'll point out that Chau beat Terravista in all but one split. I'm sure you have noticed that Brazen Bay beat Chau in all splits. Brazen Bay remains the unknown quantity. BB's official rating was bumped 5pts. The VRC Hcpr decided not to adjust any of the 'big 3's' ratings. I agree, can't make a call off that race other then that BBay can mix it with them. At the moment, back in Sydney at WFA, I'll be happy to support Terravista (undefeated at Randwick) and BBay to sort out the champ sprinter title.
Bondy
Guest
HorseRacingAnalyst It was a strong win but I'd suggest she'll go to the paddock now ....
Bondy
Guest
pat I thought he's run was ok Bowman was scrubbing the life out of him to keep up and wasn't beaten that far, the BMW will be interesting for him and also Protectionist ...
HorseRacingAnalyst
Roar Rookie
If you want to blackbook a horse you can follow Pasadena Girl, her debut run produced a huge speed rating and what she did from her run in transit on Saturday was enormous. I can't wait until I get the digital timing data so I can do her speed rating.
HorseRacingAnalyst
Roar Rookie
Were we watching the same race? Dunn put him in the worst possible position inside slower horses at the back of the field where he was never going to be a winning hope. Chautauqua is the best sprinter in the country and I will back that up with numbers but Dunn's ride never gave him a chance. Not to take away from the winner, he was given a perfect ride from the best in the business but I agree if you swap the jocks you swap the results.
pat malone
Guest
i wouldnt put red cadeaux in a black book - the most inconsistent horse around only good at Melbourne cup
kv joef
Roar Guru
A little disappointed with the Newmarket as they ran 10L slower than expected and even worse silliness when examining the splits. The opposing top-talent gifted the lightweighted 3yr-old a huge advantage in the 600m sprint home. Moriera was great keeping his unbeaten record on him. who is the champ sprinter out of this lot ... it is a long-way from settled. LR had minor injuries but anyone who thinks this horse likes idling should think again - remember what happened in the spring when he idled at a similar pace in the two lead-ups to the manikato? there was no idling in the BC Lightning when LR was great and from that race, BBay met him 3.5L better for a 2.75L defeat. Thought both stayers were good in the AuCup. Best win for me last weekend ... choice between American Pharoah or Able Friend.
Scuba
Guest
Probably, but all a bit academic since Darley bought him after the Coolmore and leased him back to the syndicate who previously owned him. Will obviously make a difference to his marketability in the NH if he wins a Group 1 in the UK.
Bondy
Guest
How much more value does it add to Brazen Beau's worth as a Stallion to win in England $10 Mill ? .
Bondy
Guest
Its twice now Chautauqua has gone to post fav up the straight in a feature Grp 1 and one could suggest the jock has missed the boat on both occasions Dunn has to ride him like a 10-1 shot. Braz Beau was a sterling win, granted . I'd suggest First Seal can be layed against the mares and older horses she'd struggle to win a Ryder off that performance , M Walker's in dashing form in Mlb also a copybook ride by Oliver on Suavito .
Will Sinclair
Roar Guru
Yeah - great summary. I am often frustrated by how passive our local jockeys tend to be. Too many races involve them forming an orderly queue in the first furlong then waiting until the straight to make a move... (And then they have the hide to return to scale and complain about the pace of the race being all wrong. As though they were powerless to do anything about it.)
Cameron Rose
Expert
Great summation Sheek. Moreira horses seem to find two lengths on everything he rides. Since that can't possibly be just the horse improving its ability for him, perhaps it is his ability to sum up a race that has no equal. I wonder if that is his "magic". He's definitely got something.
sheek
Roar Guru
Funny thing Saturday morning I was explaining horse racing as best as I could to a workmate who knew next to nothing about it. I mentioned the two big races at Flemington were a middle distance WFA & a sprint handicap, both open age. So then I had to explain different race types & different distances & different age group & sex races. I spent a bit of time explaining weight-for-age. Thank God he didn't ask me about wagering!!! I even had to explain that a jockey's weight for the horse was made up of jockey individual weight + saddle weight + plus extra kilo bars as required. However, he did ask the sensible question of whether a good jockey could make a difference to his horse's chances in a race. Then in the afternoon I witness Joao Moreira blow the opposition away in the Newmarket by taking Brazen Beau to the front at full pace halfway through the race. Now I concede I'm not a racing genius by any stretch, but sometimes the smart jockey takes the initiative a fraction before everyone else. Moreira could see that some jockeys were playing a foxing game with each other & figured he would blow them away before they could react effectively. It was clever tactical riding at its best. Of course, under a more cautious jockey, Brazen Beau might still have won by a smaller margin, but Magic Joao literally "stole" the race. Perhaps I should say he made the win emphatic rather than say, narrow.
Scuba
Guest
Happy Trails may have been too far back, but Extra Zero gave him a start and a beating. I do like the sneaky throwing in of Red Cadeaux as a horse to follow - the 2000 proved to be too short but he was still working home at the end. Not sure if he can beat Hartnell in the BMW but right on track for the Sydney Cup.
Cameron Rose
Expert
I'm not sure Dunn did a whole lot wrong to be honest, and certainly not enough to turn the tables on the winner. When has Chautauqua ever done anything but race at the tail in these straight races? Dunn's ride in the Darley Classic was worse in my opinion. Made the wrong decision at the wrong time in that race, costing him victory.
JOHNY BULLDOG
Roar Rookie
I'm talking through my kick & although the winner was good,gee it was a poor ride by Dunn-sack him!
E-Meter
Guest
I'm glad you mentioned Dunn, Will. His ride was a disgrace in a straight race. He really should have had rotten fruit thrown at him. Just to avoid 'talking through your kick' allegations, I was on Lankan Rupee. Brazen Beau was a thoroughly deserved winner though.
Will Sinclair
Roar Guru
Once again the local jockeys had their pants pulled down by a top quality international rider. Quite what Dwayne Dunn was thinking is beyond me. Swap the riders and swap the winners. (Which is not to take anything away from the winner, who was very very good indeed.)