There were three group ones at Randwick on saturday and one at Caulfield Sunday. This followed the well deserved win of the I Am Invincible mare Viddora in the group one Moir Stakes on Friday night after last years unlucky defeat. Finally the bob of the head goes to another I Am Invincible, Oohood in the Flight Stakes. While the Everest contenders put their speed on show in the group two Premier Stakes with Redzel setting the speed and never really settling. This left it open for the strong finishers and there is no better than Santa Ana Lane who zipped up along the inside, to score from stablemate Shoals.
- Hartnell and the Epsom -- In the Epsom we saw another group one go to the old war horse Hartnell as the top weight finished hard down the outside with Hugh Bowman riding for the James Cummings stable to defeat a fighting Dargento who burst through and looked like the winner. The eight year old set a new track record for the mile, today. He has run so well against the champion mare Winx and it was a bit of justice to see him put another major to his name.
- In the group one Flight Stakes we saw justice prevail again after the best maiden in Australia, Oohood finally got that head down in a three way tussel. Tim Clarke is such an underated jockey and got the job done for a happy Tony Mcevoy. She defeated another I Am Invincible filly for the Waller camp Fiesta. This made two group ones for the I Am Invincible clan after the Moir win by Viddora. The Metropolitin went to the NZers when Patrick Erin won for the Chris Waller camp after a couple of unlucky defeats for the stable earlier in the day.
- I Am Invincible -- The breed continue to produce group one winners and if the first two year olds of the season are anything to go by there is more to come. In the Gimcrack Stakes the Snowden trained Catch Me with jockey Kerrin Mcevoy win the fillies while in the Colts it was the Not A Single Doubt colt Dubious, victorious over the I Am Invincible, Covert Ops. The High Chaparral entire, Ace High returned to the winners circle after nearly twelve months with a good win in the Group 2 Hill Stakes. The four year old has a great chance down in the weights in the cups this year.
- Smart Melody and Native Soldier -- The three year old Guinea preludes and group one Underwood were run on Sunday due to the AFL grand final. The Kris Lees filly Smart Melody was a strong winner of the Thousand Guineas Prelude keeping her unbeaten record, winning for the fifth time. She was tiring late but still a strong win as was Native Soldier in the Colts prelude.The Sepoy colt was given a gem of ride by young Ben Allen and trainer D.Weir was all praise. He is out of that talented mare Belong to Many. In the group one Underwood we saw the Williams camp successful with Homesman as he took a sit and shot clear on turning and fought hard, to the line, for victory. Darren Weir capped a good day off in the last with the win of the Camelot gelding, Furrion. The solid victory over the 1700m trip gave Darren five for the day.
- On the small Morphetville card we saw Jamie Kah ride another treble. While Holy Command got the job done in the BM 70 for the Mick Price stable over the 1400m. The Smart Missile gelding was ridden by Dom Tourneur. Modulate won the BM82 which gives him four wins this preperation. He did it with ease for jockey Paul Gatt and keeps the great season going for the Ambidexters.
The king of the Australian Breeding industry over the past dozen years is still producing the elite thoroughbreds as his son The Autumn Sun takes out the Group One Golden Rose at Rosehill. While all across the country his sons and daughters offspring produce class gallopers.At Caulfield the second group one of the Australian racing weekend was won by the international visitor and winner of the Alquoz Sprint in Dubai. The Charlie Appleby trained Jungle Cat who showed a great will to win for jockey James Doyle to record his first Australian winner.
- The Autumn Sun -- This brilliant son of Redoutes Choice got everyones attention a fortnight ago when he was knocked over twice and just failed to keep his unbeaten record in tact.Yesterday Kerrin Mcevoy stayed out of trouble on him and had him last coming around the turn and pulling him to the open spaces to make his run and gee, did he let down, storming home to record his second group one victory in sensational fashion. The three year colt from the Waller stable. I believe, could be our new champion if he continues to race into his fourth year. Group ones are at his mercy.
- Written By and Caulfield -- The Autumn Sun maybe our new staying star but the number one, two year old sprint seed Written By has also returned in epic form as a three year old and yesterday, recorded yet another win. The Written Tycoon colt trained by Graham Begg and ridden by Jordy Childs just held on for his fifth victory from six starts. Redoutes Choice may have produced a superstar in The Autumn Sun in Sydney but many winners on the Caulfield card have his DNA like the gelding, Spending To Win for the Snowden camp who saluted in the 1100m handicap race. He is by Redoutes all conquering stallion son, Snitzel while the race following was won by the Tasmanian Mystic Journey who is by Needs Further another son who stands in the apple isle.The group three How Now Stakes was won by Winter Bride who is by Not A Single Doubt and you guessed it, is a son of Redoutes. It was a well deserved win for the Queensland trainer Toby Edmonds and ex Victorian jockey, Ryan Maloney. The mare has now won 7 of 15 starts.
- Nights Watch and Jungle Cat -- A couple of winners that were not connected to the champion stallion were Nights Watch who won the Group 3 Naturalism to qualify for the Caulfield Cup . Jockey Damian Lane riding for the Weir stable ended up on the outside rail but was able to grab Rising Red on the line both gallopers are by the stallion Redwood. The International traveller Jungle Cat for the Charlie Appleby/James Doyle combination collected the second group one of the day, in the Rupert Clarke Stakes as the seven year old wore down Dollar for Dollar to give James his first Australian winner.
- Tim Clarke and Rosehill -- Jockey Tim Clarke scored a treble at Rosehill saturday with firstly a win in the group three Gloaming Stakes on the promising Waterhouse/Bott young staying three year old High Chapparal colt, Thinkin Big. He won with his ears pricked by four lengths in the 1800m race. Later in the day he had wins on Shumookh again for the Waterhouse team in the group 2 Golden Pendant and in the second last on Tip Top. Another two winners worth mentioning on the day were by the Sebrings. Hugh Bowman rode Seeblume to victory in the second on the card and the Sebring mare,Miss Admirality broke her maiden status winning the group 3 Colin Stephens Quality for the Mick Price stable.
- Georgina Cartwright and Adelaide -- It was another double for Georgina in Adelaide on Saturday as she road the first winner of the day With a Bit of Dash and then saluted on the Statue of Liberty gelding Fill the Flute. It was a great front running ride as she kicked clear on straightening to win easily. Interestingly he is out of the Redoutes mare, Dom Perion who also produced the winner of the first at Caulfield, Extra Brut. Raquel Clarke continued her good association with the Rebel Raiders as she won on Wasabi Bob. The listed Wylie Hcp was won by the Weir/ Coffey combo with that honest, I Am Invincible entire, Holy Blade. I'm also wanting to make a quick mention of the Victorian country meeting at Tatura and the treble for the Smart Missile clan. First it was the 3 year old filly Disenchanted for the Brent Stanley team who won by a huge six length margin. Then in the 1100m benchmark 64 went to Millie the Missile and this was followed by another ridden by Nikita. The Greg Eurell trained Fuse.
Redoutes Choice
The weekends racing had so many highlights in both states with Winx on the top of the tree at Randwick over the promising stayer Avilius . While in Victoria we saw so much new talent rise to the top with Brutal,Grunt and Smart Melody all continuing on their winning ways. I think the win of the day other than the queens victory would have to go to Grunt. He was dominant in the group one Makybe Diva Stakes and now looks likely to take on Winx in the Cox Plate at the Valley.
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Winx and Avilius -- The Street Cry mare powered her way to victory in the George Main Stakes over 1600m and if they had gone 2000m, the margin would have been any ones guess because boy did she look strong over the last 150m of the race. How are they going to beat her if she maintains fitness through the spring. She looks like she has an extra gear or two left up her sleeve which should see her make it 29 in a row by the end of the carnival.
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Ball of Muscle -- After being successful in the group 3 Heath in Victoria, trainer Joseph Pride decided to give the eight year old a crack at the group 2 Shorts at Randwick . A smart move as with the late withdrawal of the number one seed Redzel it left an open race and the ever consistent old bloke landed another good race for connections. Siege of Quebec trained by Waterhouse/Bott team backed up after his disappointing performance last week in the Theo Marks to record a narrow victory in the group three Bill Ritchie Stakes over an unlucky Pierata . Avilius -- The new addition to the James Cummings camp is the French stayer, Avilius by Pivotal and he put himself up for calculations this spring with a good win in the group 3 Kingston Town Stakes over 2000m. He was ridden by Glyn Schofield and has now won three from three in this country and is now a three dollar favorite for the Metropolitan Hcp .
Trekking -- This four year old gelding by Street Cry is trained by James Cummings for the Godolphin team and always puts in an honest performance and Saturday it was good enough to take out the last race of the day with Kerrin Mcevoy in the saddle. He is out of the Redoutes Choice mare, Outdoor.
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Smart Melody and Miss Fabulous -- Two Kris Lees fillies on fire ! The first is a Smart Missile filly who recorded a very convincing win down the straight in the Cap D''Antibes Stakes. This now has Smart Melody four from four and heading for a start in the Guineas. Brenton Avdulla came down from Sydney to ride and when he give her a nudge 150m out. There was enormous excelleration. Kris Lees said after the race." Whether she's too brilliant to step out to a mile, we'll see. At least now she's been down the straight, so if we feel she can't run a mile after the Prelude, we can come back to Flemington." Miss Fabulass is another filly with a great pedigree in the Kris Lees stable being by Frankel out of the top Redoutes Choice mare Samantha Miss. She won like a real up and comer finishing strong along the inside for jockey Kerrin Mcevoy in the group 2 Tea Rose.
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Flemington and O'reilly -- The O'reilly entire Grunt secured victory in the group one Makybe Diva over 1600m in authoritative fashion and as long as he is kept racing could easily win more at the top echelon. The Mick Price trained and Damian Oliver ridden four year old is now looking to take on the Queen, in the Cox Plate. He now has won five of eight and $1.2 million dollars in prizemoney. Brutal -- He found himself in the lead and facing the breeze at Flemington over 1400m on Saturday and really had to fight hard for victory but gee it was the sign of a good horse as he dug deep after being headed to score. The three year old colt is another O'reilly stallion prospect but trained by the Hawkes team this time. He is unbeaten in three starts to date. I Am A Star -- This little mare is all heart and added the group two Let's Elope Stakes over 1400m to her resume with a gutsy win. The Shane Nichols trained mare was almost sent to the breeding barn after having feet problem in the Autumn. Shane said, it was all left up to the way she was feeling after her early runs this preparation and she has hit form so her being a mum will have to wait another twelve months.
The weekends racing was mostly one of upsets with the heavy track at Rosehill in Sydney taking its toll. Trapeze Artist with his 61 kgs got bogged down chasing Home of the Brave while The Autumn Sun looked very unlucky as some great tactical riding by James Mcdonald on Tarka did a number on Kerrin Mcevoy. In Melbourne the track record of Nature Strip at the Valley was the talking point as he was used up early by Mark Zahra to hold the lead and just held off a strong finish by Houtzen. The 1200m of the Everest appears that it may be too far for the star Weir sprinter although Darren Weir has a differing opinion. He believes he will get the trip.
- Lean Mean Machine and Zoustar -- The Zoustar"s keep performing and Lean Mean Machine could be their new headline act as he glided across the heavy conditions winding his way between his rivals to score an easy victory in the group 2 Run to the Rose. While in the Stan Fox the talented son of Redoutes Choice, Autumn Sun had a luckless run when Tarka and James Mcdonald stole the show over the 1500m. It was definately the ride of the day as james pushed the highly promising The Autumn Sun back into the pocket on turning before making a winning break to nose out Dealmaker. Tarka is by All Too Hard out of a Galileo mare called Gayica. Another group two on the card was the Sheraco Stakes and was won by Invincibella who is also out of the Galileo mare in Abscond by I Am Invincible. The mare has now won over 1.25 million dollars in prizemoney for the Chris Waller stable. She was ridden well by Hugh Bowman to gain victory on the heavy track.
- Nature Strip -- The Nicconi gelding is certainly putting a case forward for an Everest start and in the 1000m Group 2 Mcewan stakes on saturday he was ridden out of the gates to hold the lead and inside position. He was challenged late by the filly, Houtzen but just held on and in doing so broke the track record with a time of 56.95 seconds.
- Moonee Valley and Land of Plenty -- In the listed Chandler Mcleod Stakes Land of Plenty was another winner for the Weir/ Zahra combination as he came with his customary late burst to secure victory. In his earlier years the Startum gelding found it hard to win but since changing to the Darren Weir stables he has started to get the job done. Tavirun ridden by Linda Meech caused an upset in the third race when Linda took the Tavistock gelding straight to the front for the Bussutin and Young team.The Group One Caulfield Guineas over 1600m now looms as a genuine target after
Saturday's 1Print Handicap over the 1500m The team had success with Tavago in the 2016 Group One Australian Derby another son of Tavistock, and are still keeping the Victoria Derby 2500m in mind for Tavirun.
- Adelaide -- In the 100,000 dollar Morphetville Guineas in Adelaide Chris Symons teamed with Darren Weir with the filly, Fiera Vista to record an easy win over the 1600m journey. She is by Exceed and Excel out of the Encosta mare. Empress Jade. In the BM 75 the 4yo mare Fancy Rumble scored her fifth win in convincing style. She loves the 1000m to 1100m trips and was ridden by Liam Riordan . The Exceed and Excel stallion, Reward For Effort always produces winners on most race days especially over the shorter trips and are not early winners so usually dont reach their full potential until their 3 and 4 years of age.
- In Form Jockeys -- James Mcdonald gets the ride of the day on Tarka with him and Hugh Bowman getting doubles at Rosehill. At Moonee Valley it was a double to Mark Zahra for the Weir camp. While in Adelaide Dean Yendall scored a double for them as well. Jockeys continuing to get winners are Kayla Crowther, Jarrod Lorenzini,Jake Duffy, Linda Meech and Jordan Childs.
The Memsie Stakes at Caulfield is the Spring opener in Melbourne and boy it didnt let anyone down, producing an awesome race. It was last years Cox Plate runner up who was successful due to a great ride by Damian Lane. Earlier in the day we saw a super win by the Sepoy colt, Native Soldier. When he led the field for the Mcneil Stakes and kicked away on straightening for an easy win.While highlights in Sydney were the group 2 Tramway win of Unforgotten and the Group 2 Chelmsford Stakes won by another from the Chris Waller stable who had a huge day, in Comin Through, getting the chocolates.
- Darren Weir and Humidor -- While the Waller camp were dominating in Sydney it was the Weir camp in Melbourne. In the group one Memsie Stakes there was a blanket finish with the once wayward, Humidor finding a pathway along the rails to steal victory on the line. After Vega Magic had kicked clear in the straight, a wall of challenges appeared including an unlucky Kementari, who was forced to race three wide the trip and a fast finishing Kings Will Dream who had to change course while Humidor got the dream run to score.
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Some of the other Darren Weir trained horses which saluted on Saturday were Native Soldier,Nights Watch, Bellaria, Mrs Gardenia and High Church. Native Soldier the winner of the group 3 Mcneil Stakes is by Sepoy and the style of his win had a lot of his dad in it. He sped over from the outside barrier setting up a good tempo and then booted clear for a very easy win. Jockey, Damian Lane had an epic day and he was aboard Night's Watch over the 1400m when he won easily to give the Weir camp yet another promising horse for the Spring. Damian is the jockey to follow this spring ! The one that got away from Darren Weir was the group 3 Heath as the Sydneysider Ball of Muscle showed awesome speed too burn his opposition off and although Voodoo Lad came rocketing home over the 1100m it was never in doubt for the eight year old, trained by Joseph Pride.
- Fastnet Rock and Comin Through -- The Tramway Stakes over 1400 saw the Fastnet Rock gelding, Comin Through continue Chris Waller's great day with jockey Michael Walker riding hard. He was able to hold off an unlucky Dixie Blossoms who fired in a unsuccessful protest. There are talks about the camp targeting the Japan Cup with him. The win of Unforgotten in the Group 2 1600m Chelmsford Stakes gave the Waller /Fastnet Rock combo a double at Randwick . The four year old mare now has 6 wins from 11 starts and halfway down the straight was in a tight spot with Hugh Bowman having to wait for an opening but when it came there was a lot of power in the engine and she exploded clear , for an easy win. A group one this spring is not beyond this mare and the runner up Ace High finished strongly to put the writing on the wall for the staying group ones this season.
- Redzel --The win of Redzel was an omninous sign for other Everest contenders as the Snitzel gelding scored an effortless win, in the Group 3 Concord Stakes. While the Snitzel clan recorded a double with the win of Goodfella for the Bjorn Baker team. The I Am Invincible filly, Pure Elation added the group 2 Furious
Stakes to her resume and also made it an extra good day for the Snowden
team and Michael Walker, both securing a double. The filly now has three
wins from six starts. In Adelaide we saw the High Chaparral gelding,Answer My Friend make it three in a row in his customary way by leading and kicking strongly on straightening to win the 1400m, Listed Penny Edition. There were a total of five winners by Sepoy in all states with wins to Lightz at Hawkesbury and True Pride at Grafton. Checkout Sepoy Here
The racing from Moonee Valley Saturday was a little spoiled by the on pace bias of the track but there were standout performances worth mentioning, in the main events. In the Mckenzie Stakes for three year olds we could have been seeing our next star as Brutal put the others to the sword with a powerful finish. His win against the bias gives every indication that 1600m of the Caulfield Guineas would be right up his alley. While Faatinah in the Carlyon Stakes for the Hayes/Dabernig stable has returned in great shape from his trip earlier this year, to Dubai. In Adelaide the last three races were won by the Ambidexters with the win by Dexelation in the last giving her four wins in succession. A Commands stallion that should be watched.
- Brutal and the Valley -- Brutal, the Hawkes trained colt by O'reilly could easily prove himself one of the best this Spring if yesterdays strong win against the bias is any guide. Jockey Dwayne Dunn positioned him just off the leaders and was troubled a bit on the turns but the colt showed a strong will to win when pushed out. I think he could definately get the 1600m trip of the Caulfield Guineas, if they head that way.
- Class prevailed in the listed Carlyon Stakes as the Nicconi gelding, Faatinah scored his first 1000m victory with sustained speed and a perfect ride from Regan Bayliss. The Hayes camp had been going on about how much he had improved after returning from Dubai and yesterday certainly showed that. He will be aimed towards the group one Moir Stakes.Merriest win in the first was the fifth of her career. The Denman mare has a few quirks but she is now a five year old so they just maybe starting to be eliminated from her appearances. I thought the win of Sweet Rockette needed to be mentioned as she put up a great effort for the Michelle Payne, all lady syndicate. The outside barrier had trainer and jockey Michelle Payne a little hesitant to start the filly but a tenacious effort saw her defeat the Godolphin star Multaja by a lip. The Fastnet Rock filly is one to follow this spring for more success is looming.
- All Too Hard -- In Sydney every meeting we find one of the All Too Hard stock saluting and yesterday they got a double with wins by the four year olds, All Too Soon and Za Zi Ba . In the benchmark 78 it was an easy win for the David Payne trained mare All Too Soon over the 1500m trip under strong riding by Tye Angland. While the benchmark 78 over 1100m we saw Sam Weatherley/Widdup combination with the mare, Za Zi Ba claim an easy victory. In the Group 3 Ming Dynasty Quality over 1400m for three year olds there were plenty of leads for this season. It was won by the Tim Martin trained, Exceed and Excel colt, Danawi who had been runner up in his only three race appearances and one of them was behind the talented Autumn Sun . It was the super run by the awesomely bred filly, Mizzy that had light bulbs going off. She is by Zoustar who's progeny could be ready to stamp themselves as the new dominant force in Australian racing . They impressed as two year olds but just maybe they will be even better at three. She is out of a Magnus mare Missy Cummings which gives her it all. It may have been a breathe defeat but with the Black Caviar connection and Encosta as well as Redoute's through the stallion. She could be the BOMB!
- Adelaide and Ambidexter --We opened the meeting at Morphetville with a win by the promising Darren Weir trained colt,Approach Discreet by Dawn Approach who won like a possible spring contender. Then we finished with an Ambidexter treble. This stallion has to be one of the best value options going at the moment. My assumption of them not getting further than 1400m may have been a little premature because with the win of Modulate yesterday and another last week, over the trip. Its hard to split the wins yesterday of the four year olds, Amberdi and Dexelation both added to there impressive records. The former four from six and the later has now won his last four in a row. Both wins were over their pet distance of 1200m. The Commands stallion stands at Cornerstone Stud for $7,700.
The 26th straight victory for the mighty Winx was the talking point of the weekends racing but the win of Sunlight was also a highlight for me. Great to see her perform back to her best in the group 3 Quezette Stakes. The Snitzel colt, Showtime was successful in the Group 2 P.B.Lawrence Stakes and Jamie Kah continues to dominate South Australian jockeys.
Winx and Randwick -- The mighty mare Winx put her opposition to the sword once again in the group one race named after her on Saturday.The Waller camp certainly has her in top order and a fourth Cox Plate looks well on the cards. I found the most impressive part of her victory was the way she pulled clear the last 100m. There looked to be plenty in reserve and that awesome motor of hers seem to have another gear to spare. Honestly if they went another 200m she could have won by 4 or 5 times today's margin. Fiesta another Chris Waller trained galloper won the group 2 Silver Shadow Stakes. Ridden by Keiron Mcevoy the filly finished strongly to record her second first up victory from seven starts.While Le Romain got back in the winners circle in the 1200m group 3 Show County Quality. The 6yo gelding has now won 2.75 million in stakes.
Showtime and Hawkes -- At Caulfield we saw Showtime, the Snitzel colt get up to spoil the Godolphin party as the old boy Hartnel slipped up along the rails and looked like he may run the Dwayne Dunn ridden galloper down but youth prevailed. The Hawkes trained entire has now probably booked himself a stud career after his time on the track but a crack at the group one Memsie Stakes will be his next quest.
Sunlight --
It was so good to see the Zoustar filly return to the winners circle in the Quezette Stakes. There were a few knockers after the big margin loss to the up and coming star, Nature Strip a fortnight ago. I am starting to think the hype around him is the real deal after the filly showed her class to battle on strongly and hold off a gallant Humma Mumma, in the final stages.
Jamie Kah and Dollar for Dollar --
It was a big day out for Jamie Kah at Morphetville on Saturday beginning with Thine is the Power. The Street Boss filly looked strong in winning the 1050m BM 70. Then it was Artie's Dreamwinner for Paul Presker in the BM 75 over 1200m . This was followed by the High Chaparral gelding Dollar for Dollar for Mcevoy, who won the group 3 Spring Stakes. He has an excellent record of 8 wins from 16 starts and finally Moghul Empire for trainer Will Clarken in the last.
Nicconi and Smart Missile -- Performances of both these breeds have been exceptional lately and yesterday was no different with the Nicconi's having many winners across the country and in the opener at Randwick saw a talented Smart Missile gelding Butchoy win easily for Hugh Bowman over 1600m. The win of the Hayes/Dabernig trained colt Toni Nicconi in the group 3 Vain Stakes was a good one as he held off a strong finish from stablemate Long Leaf. The unbeaten sprinter will now head to the group 3 Mcneil Stakes in a fortnight. The other Nicconi gallopers to score on Saturday were Ayers Rock in Adelaide and Lightning Nic at Kembla.
The dual group one winning sprinter Nicconi stands at Widden Stud.
- Carbine Thoroughbreds have shares available in this Nicconi Colt
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