We wanted top class racing and yep, we certainly got it on Saturday at Caulfield. Whether it was Helmet and his stunning win of the Caulfield Guineas, Black Caviar and her brilliant return to racing, or Descerado putting his hand up for the Cox Plate with a super victory in the Caulfield Stakes, overall it will go down as one of the great days of racing we have seen for a long time.
While we saw some great highlights, there were some disappointments and major flops. Here are the black bookers from Caulfield Guineas day.
Caulfield:
Race One: Adamantium was good in winning. A horse for the Autumn I think. The black booker is Revitalise. He did a power of work before the race when he was in a filthy mood and he did a power of work during the race, siting three deep on the speed. He has talent, but he has plenty to learn. I think a couple out of this race will be winning better races in the future.
Race Two: Platelet and The Fairy’s Kiss were the clear duo out of this bunch, but I thought the debut from Pontington was good enough. Beaten a long way, but she looked to be going through the motions well enough in the run to suggest she has some talent. Might pay to mark her down as a filly to follow when she drops in grade.
Race Three: Gee I liked the way Bauer attacked the line here. Settled worse than midfield, eased to the outside and was going no where at the 200m but he picked up and really found the post well, suggesting he isn’t a spent force. Can he make up for his narrow second in the 2008 Melbourne Cup and go one better? Probably not, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he ran a decent enough race in the big one.
Race Four: Follow the first three. Black Caviar, as always, outstanding. Three deep yet won jogging to the line. Karuta Queen ran her best ever race. She set the tempo and was given a 10/10 ride by Tommy Berry and Stirling Grove wound up late to grab third. Look for him in a race down the straight where he excels. The others were just outclassed.
Race Five: Descerado was fantastic, but gee Sincero ran a cracking race. Was back in a slowly run race, was off the bit at the 900m and going to come last before he picked off runs and charged along the rail to finish just behind the placegetters. It was a solid Cox Plate trial, but I think there about three or four horses better than him going into the race for legends.
Race Six: When Luen Yat Forever gets to Flemington over a mile and further, get on him. Took forever to get going but once he did, boy he attacked the line. Going well enough to win a group one, it’s just finding the right race. Mile race at Moonee Valley and then the Emirates in a fortnight?
Race Seven: Cox Plate favourite in Helmet stood tall and produced I think the best win in this races long and proud history. Yes, I have seen replays of the wins of Tulloch, Vain, Luskin Star, Manikato, Red Anchor and several other key victors, but they wouldn’t have got near this bloke today, so the effort of Manawanui was just as good. Red Anchor was the last three year old to do the Guineas-Cox Plate double 27 years ago. I am such a huge fan of Jimmy Choux, but that effort today has changed my mind about the Moonee Valley feature piece now.
Race Eight: The term ‘stiff drink’ could not be applied any better than here to the punters who backed Valentine Miss. She was just in trouble throughout and her last 150m was that of a group one horse. Yes, Hinemoa was fantastic in winning, but Valentine Miss should have trotted in. What does she have to do to win?
Race Nine: I thought the fresh run of Our Lukas was good, considering he had a big weight in a good race over an unsuitable journey. He’ll trim up much fitter for that effort and is sure to have his supporters once he gets out to 1600m and beyond.
Written by Adam Page