A couple of hard luck stories are the feature of this week’s Sectionals Review column.
The week began with EMPHATIQUE at Eagle Farm on Wednesday. She was having her third start in a 1200m Maiden and should’ve finished a lot closer than 3.6L off the winner. She railed nicely into the straight and was desperate for a run but it didn’t come forcing her to switch across heels at the 200m and launch her attack. Had she got through she might’ve placed. One to follow.
On the same day ELLE HUDSON ran at Warwick Farm. Expectations were low as this natural stayer was having his second run at 1400m – “too dour” was the comment in his pre-race report. He went through the first 800m 6L below standard making it impossible for him to create an impression. His last 600m was above standard and his last 1200m ranked 12th for the day. He’s on track.
Proven’s metro runners on Saturday were THE BLACK CLOUD and BREAK FREE. It’s easy to be critical in hindsight and I do believe social media is way too harsh on jockeys. But my job is to critique performances and not just of the equine variety. Nash Rawiller is one of my favourite jockeys, he’s the most profitable jockey to follow at Randwick of all the big guns. But I reckon he parked THE BLACK CLOUD one pair too far back on Saturday. It was an even tempo and she was a good 3L off them. Her last 400m was 6L above standard and her final 200m ranked 2nd for the day. I don’t think there’s much more the horse could’ve done.
BREAK FREE went back from her wide gate at Doomben and unfortunately her 1200m contest wasn’t run fast enough for her to win. She did a terrific job to grab 3rd clocking the fastest last 800, 600 and 400m of the race. Give her an inside gate and she makes it interesting.
At the provincials on Saturday we had ALABAMA SHOWDOWN make his debut at Kembla. They went quick in front and I don’t think he was quite ready for that sort of race. Keen to see him again.
ELIVINA had the tongue tie on for the first time but she still raced poorly given what we’ve seen from her in the past. She finished 7th in a BM64 that rated 2L below standard, a far cry from beating Randwick BM72 time by 2L last winter. Not surprisingly, a genuine excuse has emerged and she now needs a procedure to rectify a trapped epiglottis.
I liked what I saw from ALDEZOR in his 1500m Maiden. He settled 3rd in a fast run race (keep in mind it was his first go at the trip and he was jumping from 1200m), yet his last 600m was bang on standard. The race was nearly 3L above standard, which meant his overall time was also above average for the grade. Follow him over more ground.
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The Blue Diamond Preludes didn’t provide anything of note. We don’t have a standout 2YO in Melbourne while WARWOVEN is top dog in Sydney but faces challenges with his aborted Magic Millions campaign. I’d be looking at the Talindert Stakes winner on the 7-day back-up to potentially be a late inclusion for Blue Diamond calculations. Meanwhile in Sydney AGRARIAN GIRL looks over the odds at $26 for the Slipper. She posted handy time in the Lonhro Plate and has the Waterhouse polish.
TEMPTED was awesome to watch last Saturday at Randwick. Her only beaten run over the 1200m there was 2nd to KA YING RISING in the Everest. Her overall time was good but not off the charts, which beckons the question – what do we do with the beaten brigade from the Eskimo Prince Stakes? NAPOLEONIC maybe some forgive for being too close but the rest I’d be laying wherever they go next off those ratings.
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How ridiculous is the whip rule? Designed to make our sport look better in the public eye but you can whip the living daylight out of a horse as much as you want over the last 100m – which is exactly the part of the race that gets shown on mainstream news, previews and not to mention the spot where everyone on course can see.
It does nothing to improve the image of our sport. I would argue it makes it worse because we have headlines like the one on Saturday night saying the world’s number 1 jockey James McDonald was fined $20,000 for whipping a horse too much. What do we honestly think outsiders think when they read that? And for people inside the industry they’re just as angered. Jockeys can break the rule and will never lose the race on protest. That means punters who back a horse/jockey that follows the rules get bent over by a jockey who breaks them and wins by a nose. No one is winning with this rule. FFS get rid of it.
Nic Ashman is a form expert who has developed his own times rating system to assess races. He is the host of The Beaten Favourite podcast and appears on several other racing media outlets. For a more detailed summary of the past weekend’s racing, you can listen to ‘The Monday Podcast’ episode by The Beaten Favourite HERE.