The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – April 1st Edition

Day One of The Championships was the focus point for racing on Saturday and wasn’t it an outstanding afternoon, highlighted by some stunning performances from both horse and rider. All that and more in this weeks edition of ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’.

KEY NEWS:

Boss Wins 7th Doncaster

49.5kg was the lowest weight Glen Boss had got down to since the 2009 Cox Plate aboard So You Think but it was all worth it when he steered Brutal to a pretty comfortable Doncaster Mile triumph on Saturday, the seventh win in the race for Bossy and one he regarded as “painless”. They really put the brakes on mid race, making it impossible for those out the back to win, but it was a confident ride from the Singapore based hoop, who took care of the wide gate immediately and from there, it was game over.

Santa The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Santa Ana Lane continues to get underestimated…but not anymore. That TJ win was just something else. He’s a horse who usually struggles on wet tracks but he absolutely lapped it up and made some high class sprinters look like camels. That win no doubt settles the argument of who the best sprinter in Australia is and he’ll now fly the Aussie flag overseas, starting in Hong Kong in the Champions Sprint.

Noble Boy Confirms Superiority

He might have put in a questionable piece of work during the week, but there were no question marks on Noble Boy and his outstanding win in the Country Championships Final. Aided by such a sweet steer from Bowman, the gelding picked up effortlessly when asked and dashed clear for a dominant win, giving trainer Todd Blowes his biggest win in his short career.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK:

Isn’t it amazing to think that despite not being under race day pressure, Winx was still able to clock the fastest final 600m of the day at Randwick. She was there to stretch the legs for her farewell this upcoming Saturday in the Queen Elizabeth and she looked as good as ever. But on the track, clearly Santa Ana Lane was breathtaking. What he did to a high class field…he’ll represent Australia with purpose overseas.

DEBUT OF THE WEEK:

Hearty Lass was well backed when debuting on the Parks track at Morphettville and the bets were landed with a pretty impressive all the way under Raquel Clark. Didn’t beat hacks either. The runner up looks smart and the third horse, Li’l Kontra, has been one of the better juveniles produced in SA this season.

RIDE OF THE WEEK:

Bowman produced a couple of gems at Randwick but the one on Noble Boy was a beauty. He’s a horse who normally needs to get to the outside, but Bowman played the percentages, expecting gaps to appear nearer the inside and it did, and the ride went a long way to winning the race. Hit the front early but Bowman got the best out of him and it was a ripping ride and win.

SLAUGHTER OF THE WEEK:

There were a couple of really poor rides at Toowoomba on Saturday. Larry Cassidy produced a shocker on Angel Dane. Kept probing for a run between runners when there was room nearer the inside to burst through. She should have won, simple as that. The other poor ride I thought was Josh Oliver on Mishani Vaidra. The negative tactics were got away with at the Gold Coast given the depth there wasn’t flash, but the depth was much stronger in the Toowoomba Cup and the steer was just too negative, especially when your main threat, The Lord Mayor, had a decent head start.

HORSES TO FOLLOW:

Libertini – Thought she was very good on debut in the Kindergarten and a race like the Woodlands during the Scone Carnival would be ideal
Castelvecchio – Loomed to win the Sires, condition just gave out. Bring on the Champagne
Into The Abyss – She’s ready to win now. Just wants a dry track for the James Carr
Our Libretto – She really kept finding under pressure at Caulfield and was strong to the line. She has more in store I’d suggest

ONE MORE CHANCE:

Shraaoh is likely into the Sydney Cup field and if he gets a dry track, he’ll run well. Just found the sticky tracks not to his liking his past two but has stuck on well in defeat.

NEVER EVER AGAIN:

Zalatte (On A Wet Track) – Last time she’ll race on a track with give I’d say. Money was on but she never looked to travel
Tenley (On A Wet Track) – Pen the last two runs. She doesn’t go on wet tracks