The eventual winner Golden Archer was well found by punters in early betting and the money continued to flow as the talented 2yo was backed further into $1.30. He jumped well from the outside barrier and was able to hold the lead comfortably and skip away to a 2.5 length lead at the 250m and that was about all she wrote as he held the margin easily to the finish line. The Hayes runner Flor Do Mar who was last on the turn ran on quite well into second and looks as if he is worth keeping an eye on through the grades. It will be well worth marking the horses he beat in his maiden at Morphetville as chances are they will run well. Third placed
Hot Spin performed OK again to run third but that is now twice he has been unable to match it with Golden Archer.
2-02.45 JOE BROWN HANDICAP (1600 METRES)
Winnner: Manzanilla (Lee Freedman) $5.00SP
This race changed with the scratching of four of the ten runners. Manzanilla wasn’t brilliant out and settled at the tail of the field for the first part of the race. At around the 800m Ben Melham got to business on the Snowden runner Exchanges and made a move around the outside of the field. At that stage Chris Symons the rider of Manzanilla made a race winning move when he decided to tack on and get a cart into the race off the back of Exchanges. By this stage only three runners looked a winning chance (Elsewhere, Exchanges, Manzanilla) and by the 200m it was down to just Exchanges and Manzanilla with Manzanilla doing enough to win by about a head. I’m not prepared to really knock or credit any of these runners too much as the form all looks mixed and the small field and jockey tactics had more to do with the result than anything else.
3-03.20 DENNIS HANRAHAN HANDICAP (1200 METRES)
Winner: A Beta Imagination (Mark Kavanagh) $6.00SP
as Levi Kavanagh mentioned the run at Ballarat did him the world of good and he does look like he has a bit of a future. The horse he beat Intencion form the Vasil yard hit the front and looked the winner all over. He has performed well through the Spring and got within 3/4 length of Anacheeva which made the winner’s run look even better. Intencion should benefit from that run and should be followed.
Winner: Rentarossa (T&K O’Sullivan) $21.00SP
We will start with the favourite from the Moody yard Jewel Thief. She was coming off a dominant win at Moonee Valley but we always felt that she was going to struggle here as she wasn’t weighted very well when compared to a midweek race she was placed in a few weeks earlier. She got across from her outside
gate well and looked to have a good run in transit but didn’t find anything when she needed to. Sister Norma in my opinion was a good thing beaten. She was always going to get a dream run from the barrier and had a good weight pull on Jewel Thief from the above mentioned midweek race. Rounding the turn all she needed to do was get out and I though Chris Symons made a (rare) poor decision and looked to go outside, inside and then had to stop riding and shift her out considerably to gain clear running. By this stage the eventual winner Rentarossa had made up considerable ground on Sister Norma which proved to be where the race was won and lost. Rentarossa is certainly a better horse on top of the ground and had run well behind the good stayer Cedarberg this prep. He also had three runs this prep over 2400m+ and was able to stay the distance when others couldn’t.
5-04.40 EAST WEST ROOFING LORD STAKES (1700 METRES)
Winner: Aloha (Mick Price) $1.35SP
Not a great deal to report here. Certainly cannot fault the form of Aloha who has come into her element through these middle distance races on top of the ground. Froggy was able to get her to the outside of the leader in a race where they didn’t go hard. The commentators were talking about the strong headwind and the fact she was in the death was a minor concern but in the end she showed the size of her class edge on these rivals by gapping them at the 300m and going on to win very easily. Price said they will send her to the paddock now and bring her back for a tilt at some richer races throughout the Autumn. The other runners ran well like they tend to do every week. Lakedro will be better suited in a bigger field and Wind Shear go home well. I’ve put a mark against Avalanche who didn’t set the world on fire but does look to be working into his preparation quite well.
6-05.20 CHRISTMAS STAKES (1200 METRES)
Winner: Grand Duels (Byron Cozamanis) $19.00SP
Sometimes it’s very easy to out smart yourself on the punt and Grand Duels fits into two categories where punters can out smart themselves. Even from talking to some punting mates over the years it is amazing how so many of them have no idea what a limit weight is. Grand Duels was asked to carry 59kg on a limit weight of 54kg which means he will only carry 5kg more than the lowest handicapped horse. That is quite significant since the raising of the limit weight over the years. Had the limit weight been 52kg then Grand Duels would have been carrying 7kg more than the lowest handicapped horse hence why it is the limit that means the most when lining up if you think your fancy is carrying enough weight. The second is the barrier, as he drew 19 before scratchings. I tend not to try and let barriers dictate what we do to much as you can have good luck from a bad barrier and bad luck from a good barrier. It was a pearler of a ride from Arnold and the old boy Grand Duels looks to be racing as well as he has for a while remembering he is a GRP 1 placed performer. Once they passed the 250m he let down and sprinted well to hold off the fast finishing Miss Octopussy. She has done very well this prep and looks as of she has a good future. I thought she hit the line really well and is building a good record. The Snowden runner Offenders lost his position and got too far back and ran on well for fourth. He will be looking for 1400 to 1600 now and is worth following.
7-06.00 FRANK O’BRIEN HANDICAP (1200 METRES)
Winner: Mid Summer Music (Peter Moody) $2.60SP
It really was a top notch effort from the winner Mid Summer Music who didn’t have it all go her own way. She has now won 5 from 6 starts and is proven across all conditions. They only ran a fraction slower here than Grand Duels did in the race prior over 1200m and she was first up here. It was also reported from the mounting yard that she will certainly tighten up after this run and improve wherever she goes next. She raced mid field the journey and looked to be struggling a bit at the turn. I was then unsure she was going to get out but once she did after a few bumps she was able to let down well and win impressively. The second horse Simply Put who was also first up looked to run pretty well also and looks to have a race in her very soon should she continue to improve.
8-06.40 KEN STURT HANDICAP (1400 METRES)
Winner: Foxham (Tony McEvoy) $6.50SP
The Kavanagh runner Shadowfax was heavily backed here and started around the $2.10 mark. Tough Future and No Vacany certainly ensured a solid tempo and and were both gone by the turn. Shadowfax was pretty good I thought. He was caught wide early before getting in and racing just behind the solid pace. He was able to continue his effort when the other on pace runners were unable to finish off. The second horse Skystreamer looks to have enjoyed being freshened, back to 1400m and on top of the ground. It looked like
he was going to get the chocolates with about 50m to go bit Foxham who had been approximately 12 lengths last half way through the race unleashed a powerful finish to finish over the top of them all. Like Skystreamer he had also been freshened and was back from 1800m. Ransom Willy looked as if he was going to break through after enjoying a lovely run on the back of Shadowfax and went for about 100m between the 250m – 150m before he flopped. Keep an eye out for him in a suitable race either midweek or at the provincials as he is going well but just out of his depth on a Saturday (or in this case Sunday).
Follow: Mid Summer Music, Simply Put, Shadowfax, Offenders (1400/1600).
Sack: Huxssen.
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