The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – February 3rd Edition

Winx kicked off her farewell tour in grand fashion, Nakeeta Jane sent a warning to her rivals for the Autumn and In Her Time finally got her moment in the spotlight. All that and more in this weeks edition of ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’.

KEY NEWS:

30 Straight For Winx

The doubts on whether or not Winx would be as good as she was in the past were put to bed in under 81 seconds with the champion mare spanking her rivals first up in the Apollo Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday. Under Hugh Bowman, the mare was given a squeeze just before straightening and she picked up effortlessly, moving up to Happy Clapper and putting him away for a dominant win, running a race record time and giving the track record a nudge in a commanding performance.

Nakeeta Jane #Wow

Mark Newnham has a really good bunch of three year old fillies and Nakeeta Jane could well top the list after the filly resumed with a stunning win in the Light Fingers Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on Saturday. For a mare that is bred to get a trip, she showed an electric turn of foot when asked for the effort by Josh Parr and ran some of the best late splits of the day to wear down Madam Rouge. Look out for her when she gets to 2000m+.

In Her Time FINALLY Wins a Major

She’s been most unlucky at the top level for a little while and while The Galaxy is indeed a time honoured Group l, the Lightning Stakes is one of the best sprint races in the world and she was outstanding in winning it on Saturday at Flemington. Corey Brown always had her near the speed in a race where they really steadied up mid race which suited those near the front and she just proved too good.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK:

How can you go anywhere else but Winx? It was just a stunning return. Visually, it was unbelievable and the clock backed it up, running her usual freak late sectionals to get the job done comfortably yet again for win number 30 on the bounce. She seems to be getting better with age…could they be tempted to delay the farewell and have a crack at Cox Plate number five? The way she’s going, you wouldn’t say no straight away.

DEBUT OF THE WEEK:

Symon Wilde put out a couple of impressive first start winners at Warrnambool on Thursday, Foxy’s Star and Strategic Force. You can follow them with confidence i think. Foxy’s Star copped some heat in front and was there to be beaten but drew clear and actually ran the quickest final 200m of the race, so despite that early pressure, it was strongest on the line. Strategic Force was $3-$1.40 and won like a $1.40 chance despite sitting four wide throughout. Ran the quickest last 600/400/200 of the race despite the early burn and his future looks bright.

RIDE OF THE WEEK:

Craig Williams had a plan heading into the Flemington meeting on Saturday. He’s one of the best when it comes to walking the track and noticing if there’s any advantage, and he well and truly found it, riding three winners and each ride was an absolute peach, most notably the one on Amphitrite. When he’s good, he’s very good is Willow. Just needs to shorten the gap between his good and bad.

SLAUGHTER OF THE WEEK:

Not sure there was much more he could have done, but it was ugly viewing if you were on Brad Stewart aboard Macewen. No doubt he should have won the race, comfortably, but whether it was the jocks fault or the fact there was little to no room. It’s up for debate, but the horse should have won. He does have credits in the bank though does Brad Stewart so I’ll forgive him.

HORSES TO FOLLOW:

Verry Elleegant – If she did everything right re manners, she’d be the best three year old filly in Australia. Enormous return
Osborne Bulls/Graff – They’ll be two leading chances in the Newmarket for sure
Widgee Turf – Considering the track pattern, he went absolutely enormous
Diplomatico/Paret – Both good in an unsuitable race shape

ONE MORE CHANCE:

Brutal – I think he’s overrated and for mine he was there to win yesterday. Want to see him one more time against the big boys before officially penning him.
Miss Fabulass – McEvoy said she dipped and dived in uneven ground nearer the rail, so want to see her again. The big tick is that she relaxed in the run
Invincible Gem – They just ran her off her legs. Give her another chance

NEVER EVER AGAIN:

Written By – I think he’s a pretender/overrated
Covert Ops – Physically hasn’t really improved much and looks a 1000m speed horse
Nothin Like Harry – Can win without me in the future
Girl Tuesday – She’s overrated and though bred to be suited over further, she was plain again.