The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – July 25th Edition

There was a bit going on in the racing world on Saturday but the focus was all about a nasty incident at Rosehill. All that and more in this weeks edition of ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’.

KEY NEWS:

Horror Fall To Start The Day

The first at Rosehill was shaping up to be an intriguing contest for a number of reasons, but post race, it eventuated into being a stomach turning couple of minutes with Hot ‘N’ Hazy coming down via interference and sadly couldn’t be saved. As for his rider, Andrew Atkins, it will be another lengthy stint on the sidelines with the young hoop sustaining fractures to the the Fibula and Tibia, along with a fractured Clavicle.

Mugatoo Back With A Bang

He might not have beaten a great deal in winning the Winter Challenge (1500m) on Saturday at Rosehill but the manner in which Mugatoo won suggests he’ll be more than competitive in the Spring. The Kris Lees trained import came from last in the run to round them up and win quite easily on the line. He’s now equal favourite for the Metropolitan.

Viridine Wins Bletchingly

Some magic from Olly saw Viridine get back into the winners list by taking out the Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) on Saturday at Caulfield. It looked like it could be an ugly watch early on in the straight, but Olly got the split along the fence and the class of horse and rider came to the fore. Streets Of Avalon was good in defeat and will be on track for the PB Lawrence and then the Memsie Stakes.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK:

Was a good meeting last Sunday at Pakenham. He’s a champion Tallyho Twinkletoe and was too good in winning the Brendan Drechsler Hurdle. Lumped 72kg, was there to be run down, but he showed true champion qualities late to fend them off, cling on and win. He’ll now likely head to Sandown next Sunday and take a power of beating.

DEBUT OF THE WEEK:

He’s had a fair few cracks at the flat racing, but Wolfe Tone debuted as a jumper on Sunday at Pakenham and boy wasn’t he impressive. Granted he didn’t beat much, but he jumped very cleanly and his turn of foot when let down late was sharp. He can improve off that for sure and potentially be a future top jumper.

RIDE OF THE WEEK:

In the absence of J Mac, Nash Rawiller has taken his spot in the Sydney riding ranks and gee he produced a couple of gems on Wednesday at Canterbury. The one on Decroux was the pick. Drew wide but somehow found three back the fence and didn’t get off there until the top of the straight and in that Nash style, he lifted it to win. Would love to see he and J Mac have a red hot dual for the premiership next season.

SLAUGHTER OF THE WEEK:

Could have gone with Bowman aboard Smart Image, but will have to wait and see what eventuates re Stewards. Going back to last Sunday at Pakenham and the steer from Lee Horner aboard Felix Bay. Heard trainer Amy McDonald on a number of occasions post race defend the ride from Horner, but come on. It was just far too negative and he waited far too long to get going on the horse. He’s flying the old boy and a win isn’t far away.

HORSES TO FOLLOW:

Group Think – Ugly, ugly watch. Should have gone close to winning
Hasta La Fiorente – Better racing manners and he wins. Enormous in defeat
Octane – Would love to see him at Stakes level

ONE MORE CHANCE:

Vibrant Knight – Nice horse, just not there mentally yet
Travest – He’s a nice horse that needs some form of head gear to switch on. But is overrated by some
Tavidance – He’s better than that

NEVER EVER AGAIN:

Time To Reign – Geld him or retire. Just showing no desire to race
Desert Path – Track didn’t dry out like I thought it would, but still disappointing
Order Again – Another example of being unlucky doesn’t mean they should have won. Own worst enemy but had his chance
Rari – Awful again
Burleigh Boy – Looks very limited
Propelle – Horrendous racing pattern doesn’t help her cause
Sign Seal Deliver – Being slow isn’t ideal. Might be better suited as a jumper
Just Zerene – She’s not blacktype winning quality
Calypso Reign – Thought he was pretty plain and might be overrated
Defence Missile – Gee he was awful. First horse beaten