Horse Racing The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – 13/8/2022

The Doncaster winner returned with a bang, a Queenslander stamped his Group l potential while at Rosehill, bias wreaked havoc, again. All that and more in this weeks edition of ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’.

KEY NEWS:

Mr Brightside Wins PB Lawrence

Doncaster Mile winner Mr Brightside returned with bang on Saturday at Caulfield, showcasing his class when it counted to take out the PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield. He had to chase down leader Buffalo River, then had to fend off I Am Superman, and despite being first up, he finished best to win. It bodes well for his likely next assignment, the Memsie in two weeks time.

Uncommon James Dominant In Regal Roller

The O’Dea/Hoysted camp has had mixed fortunes with their team for the Melbourne Spring but they might have unearthed a potential Group l horse with Uncommon James giving his Regal Roller Stakes (1200m) rivals an absolute spanking at Caulfield on Saturday, showcasing a brilliant turn of foot when let down and running fast time. The stable are thinking maybe the Chautauqua or the Bobbie Lewis as a next run. But, the way he went through his gears, a race like the Sir Rupert Clarke would be very tempting, and who knows, potentially an Everest slot.

Bias Sours Rosehill Meeting

Bias reared its ugly head at Rosehill on Saturday, with the inside section of the track being absolute gold. 21 of the 30 placegetters on the ten race card were fence in run, with eight winners being fence in run. The highlight of the meeting was the brilliant return win of Cups aspirant Surefire, but once again, another Sydney track riddled with bias…but sure, let’s bump up the prizemoney of barrier trials for The Everest.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK:

I am going back to Wednesday at Sandown and the arrogant win of Aft Cabin in the opener. He trialled up like a jet prior to a narrow defeat on debut at Warwick Farm. He then went to Sandown and despite sitting wide no cover, he pretty much won like it was a barrier trial. He’s destined for blacktype races and is one to follow with confidence.

DEBUT OF THE WEEK:

Peter Moody had a real flex at Pakenham Synthetic on Monday, winning the first three races with three first starters. The most impressive of the trio was Merry Mac Boy in the second race. He led throughout under Billy Egan and was dominant in the run to the line, running very fast time without being fully extended. Connections have played the waiting game and they’ll be rewarded.

RIDE OF THE WEEK:

The Flemington track today, it was clear early on that outside was best, so the steer from Mark Zahra aboard Veranskova was an absolute peach. Drew gate two, he immediately veered towards the outside and got as wide as he got, which was clearly the winning move, and the horse made a mess of them.

SLAUGHTER OF THE WEEK:

I am a fan of Stacey Callow as a rider, but I thought she got it horribly wrong aboard Kalamon at Balaklava on Wednesday. Had gate one on the track specialist and it due to a solid tempo, it was clear that runs nearer the inside were going to open up, which the eventual winner proved. Callow elected to shove out wider for clear air, concede a few lengths with momentum stopping and getting beat 0.4L, no doubt in my mind the ride cost the horse the win.

HORSES TO FOLLOW:

Frumos – Ride wasn’t great, but the bias was the reason for the choice of tactics. Should have bolted in
Quick Tempo – Given the pattern, he was absolutely enormous
Grand Impact – Won at Sandown on Sunday, he’s very smart

ONE MORE CHANCE:

Mugatoo – Plain return, but fast tempo, biased track, I want to see him again
Unusual Culture – She’s crying out for a bigger track. Flemington please

NEVER EVER AGAIN:

Landsborough Lad – He’ll win races…I think. But if he does, it will be without me. He’s a milk drinker
Thought Of That – Lead or bust for him
She’s All Class – Off a let up, but still very ordinary. No more for me
Aysar – I’ll almost give it away If I see an advertisement for this guy being a stallion
Behemoth – It’s got the sniff of Gytrash 2.0 where his best is behind him and he’s racing without desire