The Barry Lockwood trained Give Me Space has been marked up as the horse to beat in the Listed Daybreak Lover at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
The lightly raced three-year-old has earned that respect having won three times, finished second twice and third once in his six starts in a telling last preparation during which he stamped himself as being well above average, moving from a Maiden winner to a Group 3 winner in a two-month, five race blitz.
That Group 3 win came in Give Me Space’s second last run in the Vo Rogue Stakes and arrived via a stunning, scintillating last to first victory in which Give Me Space had all of twelve lengths to make up at the halfway mark after jumping from the widest draw of all (fourteen out of fourteen) at double figure odds.
It was a highly memorable win that franked the son of Cosmic Force’s power in no uncertain terms.
That pattern of racing can have its agonising downside though, as in Give Me Space’s narrow last start runner-up finish in the $3m Magic Millions Guineas.
Not that Luke Demsey had too much option on the Lockwood trained runner who again was handed a carpark draw in the Guineas (seventeen out of eighteen).
Dempsey took his mount back at the break, crossed to the inside and raced some seven lengths off the speed in the early part and he still had those seven lengths to make up on straightening and ten horses in front of him to run down and only 400m left to run.
Then, with 350m left to race, Give Me Space encountered a marginal, but what would arguably turn out to be a vital hold up when Dempsey had to shift Give Me Space out into clear galloping room and balance him up again.
Only then, could Dempsey fully unleash Give Me Space who showed what you would now recognise as his trademark acceleration, again making up ground in astonishing fashion, an effort which carried him past nine of the runners who were in front of him, but left him just a stride-and-a-half short of reeling in the Neasham/Archibald trained Bosustow.
It was heart-stopping stuff for the connection of both the winner and the runner-up over the last 100m, with Give Me Space’s run home again having a huge impact on the race as a spectacle.
It would be fair to say you would expect more of the same on Saturday.
Demsey, who guided Give Me Space to that Vo Rogue Stakes win and the Guineas runner-up result, will again be in the saddle.
Give Me Space brings an overall race record of three wins and three minor places from only seven starts into the race. He has won first-up previously (he comes into this race just shy of three months away from race action) and he has won two out of three starts at the Eagle Farm track.
Several big stables are amongst those lining up to try and shut out Give Me Space charge though.
Ciaron Maher has the second favourite Goodlucktome, who will be bidding for a hat trick of wins. James Cummings has the Blue Sapphire winner Pisces in the lineup. Tony Gollan has Boomtown Boss and the Annabel Neasham / Rob Archibald training partnership send out Tuned. Both Boomtown Boss and Tuned are last start winners.
It is a very competitive line-up, but the bottom line to those looking to challenge the favourite would appear to be that if you give Give Me Space space, you do so at your own peril.
