It was a day where that dreaded ‘B word’ was on the lips at Caulfield, a surprise of decent proportions in the Hobartville at Rosehill while the All Star Mile top ten and overall vote numbers were revealed. All that and more in this weeks edition of ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’.
KEY NEWS:
Bias At Caulfield?
Racing Twitter was up and about in a big way when it came to Caulfield and how those near the speed were seriously advantaged on speed, with the majority of winners being fence in run and/or leading, which saw three different results in the features, with Streets Of Avalon winning the Futurity from the front, Pippie showing sustained speed to take out the Oakleigh Plate and Tagaloa taking out the Blue Diamond. But when you look at race sectionals, the majority of races were tempo related and a few jockeys showed good initiative.
A Massive Boilover In Hobartville
Despite 1400m seemingly being short of his best, Brandenberg made sure everyone knew he was a quality three year old that should be respected with a dominant on speed win to take out the Hobartville first up at Rosehill. Rachel King rode him a treat, sitting him outside hotpot Microphone and that pair really controlled things, which really suited the favourite, but it was Brandenberg who showed the better change up speed and was too good. In behind, the clear standout was Castelvecchio, who was excellent late.
All Star Mile Top Ten Revealed…The Voting Numbers Though?
The top ten of the All Star Mile for 2020 was revealed earlier this week at Caulfield and it’s attracted a high quality field, headlined by Alligator Blood, Kolding and Catalyst. The talking point though was the final numbers when it came to voting. 135,000 votes were recorded for 2020, down 4000 from last year. Considering that Mystic Journey was taken out, and the Syndicates/Businesses didn’t promote as heavily compared to last year, you can forgive that. But Brian Kruger, Chairman of Racing Victoria, was on the record saying the number he was targeting was 200,000. The race will be a beauty, the concept is a good one, but it’s not appealing to those outside the racing bubble as strongly as hoped.
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK:
Mitch Beer gets the nod for getting his mare Sky Call into the Country Championships Final via a win in the Albury Qualifier on Saturday. He would be the first to admit that his recent numbers haven’t been great, but have to keep in mind the majority of those not so flash numbers came during/post the recent bushfires, which forced him to scale his numbers right back as he helped those in a much tougher position than him. He’s been rewarded with a starter in the big dance and I doubt many would be begrudge him a big win.
DEBUT OF THE WEEK:
Admittedly the brutal tempo helped, but gee Bovalino moved like a nice horse and was impressive in winning on debut at Newcastle on Saturday. He sat back off a very strong speed before Metcalfe sliced her way through the field and the colt really put the speedy squib Penang away and was dominant. Not sure what level he can get to, but he can win again.
RIDE OF THE WEEK:
Initiative gets the nod this week yet again and the best displayed was Jean Van Overmeire aboard Greyworm at Rosehill. 59kg first up over 1100m at Rosehill isn’t an easy task, but JVO showed really good positivity from the start, hunting forward and he caught the others napping. Found the front and after 200m, it was race over. Lovely front running ride from a very talented apprentice.
SLAUGHTER OF THE WEEK:
I think Tommy Berry has improved as a rider over the last 12-18 months. But the gap between his good and bad is far too great and the bad was on display via Subpoenaed. Was just far too negative on the filly in the last at Rosehill and just made all the wrong moves. Overcame the difficulty to make up ground and wins in another stride.
HORSES TO FOLLOW:
Savatiano – Coolmore Classic is hers for the taking off her resumption. Outstanding return
Mustajeer – He’s got a stack of improvement left. On target for a Sydney Cup
Castelvecchio – Lovely return from this colt
Master Of Wine – What an impressive return. Could easily measure up to WFA level this prep
Subpoenaed – No hope via the ride. Excellent effort
Regal Power/Harlem – Couple of lovely Australian Cup trials there
ONE MORE CHANCE:
Miami Bound – Too bad to be true. Want to see her again
Spanish Reef – In restricted room. 1600m next time
NEVER EVER AGAIN:
Every Rose – 1000m scampers are her go in life I think. Not at the top level
Etana – Track gallops between races doesn’t equal a win all the time
Microphone – He needs a gelding operation if he’s going to be a top three year old. Every chance
Beau Balmain – Needs a set of jumps. Too slow for flat racing
