Golden Slipper curse? What Golden Slipper curse is what we were all thinking after champion colt Pierro absolutely demolished his rivals in Saturdays Group lll Run To The Rose (1200m) at Rosehill, while in Melbourne, Sincero returned in barnstorming fashion to easily account for his rivals in the Group ll Memsie Stakes (1400m).
But let’s stick with Pierro for now. There were plenty of doubters out there, questioning if he had come back well enough after trainer Gai Waterhouse elected not to trial him, which is a rarity for a horse from Tulloch Lodge. But some punters stuck solid with him and when the bookmakers opened him up at $2.20-$2.50, he was crunched into the red almost straight away.
During the race, you only wanted to be on him. He was just cruising under a tight hold from Nash. Come the top of the straight, that arrogance we saw in the Sires Produce and Champagne kicked in and he went into another gear. The official margin was 1.3 lengths, but it could have been the further. Do we need to talk about the beaten brigade? Sure we do.
Your Song was excellent. Sat off the pace and stuck to the fence, where nobody went all day, so he did a fantastic job to get as close as he did. Epaulette was very good also, sitting three deep with no cover throughout. Ninth Legion ran the equal fastest final sectional in the race, along with Pierro. He is ticking along nicely, while Ashokan was outclassed.
The other beaten horse was All Too Hard. My opinion of this horse? He is a cat. No other way to describe him. The form out of his three victories has to be questioned. Yes, several winners have come out of those three victories, but they aren’t anything special. In the Sires Produce at Randwick, he had every possible chance behind Pierro but wasn’t good enough and again on Saturday. He had the cold sit behind Pierro and was left for dead at the 300m. He would want to improve many lengths to win the Golden Rose. As he keeps losing, his stud value goes further and further down.
The other feature race at Rosehill was the Premier’s Cup (1800m) and yet again, Gai has unearthed a quality stayer from overseas. I wasn’t sure about Glencadam Gold on Saturday given his first up win was only narrow and the horses he beat would struggle at Bong Bong, but he obviously had improvement and he toyed with his rivals. He is a genuine contender for the Caulfield Cup based on what I saw here. Second, third and fourth were all excellent. Permit is ready to win, Stout Hearted is still one of the big guns for the Metropolitan and The Verminator will pick up a provincial cup or two if placed right, which he should be.
The main race at Caulfield was the Group ll Memsie Stakes (1400m). Sincero, trained at Wyong by Steve Farley, was the $3.50 favourite and showed his class late with a dominant two length win over Happy Trails and Second Effort.
It was really good to see Sincero back in the winners circle. He had raced so well in the Autumn without winning and he looked primed for a first up win based on what he produced in a couple of barrier trials. The key with him this campaign is the fact he didn’t go to Brisbane in the Winter and he was allowed to spell for a few weeks more. The connections would have learnt plenty 12 months ago when they brought him south. He was racing ok, but nothing special. Their plan is to space his races, which seems perfect given he is almost unbeatable when produced fresh. The $17 on offer for the Cox Plate does sound very appealing.
Of the beaten brigade, Happy Trails is absolutely flying. First go at WFA, he ran a cracker. Second Effort was solid, but I doubt he’ll keep going at this level. From a cups perspective, the two eye-catchers were Green Moon, who sat last and ran home hard along the fence, and Maluckyday, who was first up for over 12 months and hit the line well enough. Give him another couple of runs and then you’ll see the best of him.
The first feature of the afternoon was the McNeil Stakes (1200m). Classic Elle was the even money favourite and she never ever looked likely. The winner, Lady Of Harrods, had every right to win after getting a very cheap lead and rightfully held on. The hard luck story was Kabayan. He was three and four wide with no cover, wobbled around the home turn, lost momentum, yet came within a head of winning. He’ll be hard to beat in the Golden Rose. The run of the race was Shamexpress. He was pulling his head off at the tail of the field, but still charged home late and only just missed. He and Kabayan were the blackbookers from the race.
Golden Archer continued his sparkling form when he led most of the way to claim Theshark.com.au Stakes (1100m). He did a bit of work early, but once he crossed over and got the lead, he was never in doubt. He was just better than those. Mr Make Believe produced a fabulous first up performance. Give him a wet track this Spring and he’ll pick up some black type easily. Platelet is Platelet, she gives 110% every time and the stablemate Rue Maple was ok after getting a soft run on the fence. Can’t really say much about the others here. They were ordinary.
Michael Walker, who booted home Lady Of Harrods earlier in the day, got his second feature event win of the afternoon when he steered Cuban Sunday to victory in a very weak Slickpix Stakes (1700m). They went mad in front, the pace was too hot and something from the back had to win and Walker produced a 12/10 ride on this gelding to get it to the outside and let him wind up. The run of the race was Streets Away. He was on that fast tempo and did remarkably well to hold on for third. Other than him, the only horse that caught my eye was Sabrage. Other than those three, you can probably put a line through the rest.
So, who do we follow from the weekend? There are a few from Rosehill. Firstly, Proisir. He is a star in the making. He still has no idea what he is doing on the racetrack, but once he does, he’ll win a Group l. Ironstein was solid enough in resuming. If placed right, he can pick up a race or two. Pierro (obviously). He’ll win the Caulfield Guineas. The $2 on offer is a gift. The first five across the line in the Premier’s Cup were all excellent and will be winning or going very close to winning at their next start or two.
From Caulfield, Sharnee Rose is one to follow. Australia’s best maiden, but just can’t seem to crack it. She will this campaign surely…Maybe. Kabayan and Shamexpress were both solid under difficult circumstances in the McNeil. Green Moon and Maluckyday appear as if they’ll be serious contenders for the big handicaps and Chase The Rainbow in the last race…What a great training effort by Rick Hore-Lacy. Off the scene for 12 months, this horse showed he has lost none of his dash and class in winning. He is in for a big preparation if holds that sort of form.