The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – February 20th Edition

Blue Diamond Day was the focus this Saturday at Caulfield, while supporting that Group l day was Rosehill and a Kiwi stamped himself as a potential next superstar. All that and more in this weeks edition of ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’.

KEY NEWS:

Redemption For Currie In Blue Diamond

12 months ago, the 2020 Blue Diamond Day saw Luke Currie in hospital after a nasty fall at Moonee Valley the night prior, losing the ride on leading chance Hanseatic, who was beaten narrowly. Fast forward to 2021 and Currie was back and at his brilliant best when steering Artorius to a strong win in the big one, beating home Godolphin duo of Ingratiating and Anamoe. Hotpot Enthaar led at a fast clip and tired late.

Dead Heat In Oakleigh Plate

50m out, it looked like Portland Sky was going to win. 10m out he was holding on, but on the line, Celebrity Queen dived hard and in the end, the two had to share the spoils of the Oakleigh Plate, with the win giving apprentice Teo Nugent his first major alongside Willie Pike aboard the WA mare.

Star Unearthed In Hobartville

If you listened to anyone from NZ, they were telling you that Aegon is something special and they could well be right, because he produced a stunning Australian debut in the Hobartville (1400m) at Rosehill, showing really good will to win by driving hard between runners, taking narrow gaps and dominating his rivals. It could be a case of good luck beating him in whatever he contests.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK:

Jamie Kah gets her plaudits, and rightfully so, but gee Rachel King can get overlooked amid the Kah hype. She is a gun in her own right and produced four of the best to win at Rosehill on Saturday. All four steers were top shelf and it might be the start of a very fruitful Autumn for the star hoop.

DEBUT OF THE WEEK:

It’ll be interesting to see what level Bourbon Flyer can get to. Loved the way he knuckled down to win on debut on the Kenso track on Wednesday, finishing off strongly despite sitting on speed under Bowman. Is he Golden Slipper material? I’d say no, but a level or two below, he can win races.

RIDE OF THE WEEK:

Absolute peach from Rachel King aboard Emanate. Lobbed into the perfect spot shortly after the start and then when Black Magnum made a move, King got onto the back of that sprinter and really, 400m out it was race over and she won like an odds on pop. The steer aboard Andermatt was another ripper too.

SLAUGHTER OF THE WEEK:

I didn’t tee off properly with Jim Byrne aboard Spurcraft three weeks ago but I will after his steer aboard the sprinter this afternoon. It was just a nothing steer. Back off the speed and seemed in a good spot, but went three wide. Just a nothing move. Admittedly the horse didn’t appear to be going any good, but the ride was a howler. Bossy aboard Impecunious worth a shout as well. Horrendous watching from the 400m onwards.

HORSES TO FOLLOW:

Madam Rouge – Crying out for a dry track and she’ll go close in the Coolmore Classic
North Pacific – I think he’s on track. Whether he’s good enough to beat Aegon remains to be seen
Flat Heaven – Ugly viewing. Fights the finish out with clear air
Oxley Road – 6-12 months time, he could well be a Group l horse
Spanish Reef – Negative ride cost her I think. She’s come back well

ONE MORE CHANCE:

Vowmaster – First time on wet ground and very keen. Forgive
Tommy Gold – Dry track and one last chance
Ziegeld – Can’t sack him off one run
Lackeen – Ditto like Ziegfeld
Munitions – Dry track next time
Young Werther – He’s a big dope but the engine is there
Behemoth – Face value, he was poor. But, back on a dry deck next time and he can improve

NEVER EVER AGAIN:

Wolfe – Needs to lead and get control to be effective
Khoekhoe – Very disappointing I thought. Depth will only get stronger
Ole Kirk – Inside wasn’t the spot to be, but he was very plain still
Crosshaven – Not a Group l horse
Peter Young – I’ll be steering clear of this as an Australian Cup reference