Rarely does a race meeting at Cranbourne go by without the combination of Brad Rawiller and Michael Kent being in the winners list and the trend on form looks to continue today with three strong chances.
The first of those is Hold For Applause, which runs in the third race. This OTI-owned daughter of Thorn Park is a former kiwi who had one start in New Zealand on October 30 2009 when finishing sixth in a Matamata maiden before being sent to Australia to be trained by Kent. She made her Aussie debut in the Group three Vanity and finished a terrific sixth behind Tallow before being sent for a spell. She resumed last week at Cranbourne and frankly, just forget she went around. She had no luck at all. This race does have some depth but if she brings that Group form here and has some luck in running, she’ll be charging home at the end.
Arms Deal looks the best winning hope for Rawiller and Kent. The gelding runs in race four. Was kept safe in the market on debut two weeks ago and she ran a cracking race to finish a narrow second behind Coldens Choice, who ran on Friday night at Moonee Valley. Rises to 1600m for this race, Rawiller takes over from Nick Hall and is drawn well. Can’t ask for much more than that.
Mahsam runs in the fifth race and he is the interesting horse. He was very well backed last week but had a bumping duel with a couple of horses and didn’t finish the race off. I feel the inside barrier maybe a disadvantage as he is a big type than needs clear galloping space so if Brad can get him away from the inside, he’ll be there at the finish. Another concern is that he is dropping back from 2080m to the mile. But I’ll give Kent the benefit of the doubt as he is one of the most astute trainers in the country.
Written by Adam Page
