The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – October 2nd Edition

Racing on Saturday was all about Redzel and his Everest triumph, but the star of the show was in the shape of a three year old at Caulfield. All that and more in this weeks edition of ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’.

KEY NEWS:

Redzel Climbs To The Top Again

The old adage of forgive a good horse for one bad run. Should have been put to the test with Redzel because he’s a gun sprinter and he proved it again with a dominant all the way win in the Everest, winning the race again and this time around in probably more impressive fashion. That win takes him to outright second on the all time leading prizemoney earners in Australian racing.

The Autumn Sun v Winx?

It’s been a while since the great mare has had a serious threat in terms of another horse. The Autumn Sun could well be that in the Cox Plate. But will he head that way? That’s the question on everybody’s lips after his stunning win in the Caulfield Guineas, sitting wide throughout before putting them away on the turn and dashing clear like a star.

Nothing Yuc About O’Brien Stayer

The Autmn Sun’s win was world class, make no mistake of that. But dear me, Yucatan in the Herbert Power was absolutely enormous in winning. He was three and four wide for the first bit of the race before J Mac turned the screws 800m out, dashed clear and the horse won with plenty in hand, the 1.25L margin seriously flattering his rivals. On to the Caulfield Cup and even the Melbourne Cup, where he’s already well fancied.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK:

Has to be The Autumn Sun. Some great horses have come unstuck at their first look at Caulfield. The one that comes to mind straight away is Pierro and the 2012 Caulfield Guineas where he did a mountain of work in the run. He was grabbed late. The Autumn Sun won by 4.5L. We’re seeing something very special and I wouldn’t rule him out giving Winx a serious race in the Cox Plate.

DEBUT OF THE WEEK:

It was an ugly steer by Williams in getting clear, but how about the turn of foot displayed by Champagne Boom in the Debutant. She got clear air and just exploded, her last 100m being that of a proper horse. Already high up in markets for the Slipper and rightfully so. Anaheed at Randwick was also sharp in winning.

RIDE OF THE WEEK:

Didn’t win the race, but it was a ripping ride from Tommy Berry on Osborne Bulls in the Everest. The only jockey behind Redzel to show initiative, coming to the outside section of the track and he tried hard but Redzel had it too good in front. But as we saw in the last, the outside fence was the spot to be. Great initiative and it nearly won the race.

SLAUGHTER OF THE WEEK:

You could throw a few in here. Majority of the beaten riders in the Everest, even Tommy on One Foot In Heaven. But the spoils go to Randy Tan on Brelleta Five at York on Thursday. Watch the replay of it. It should have won by a space, but somehow Tan just got into a very nasty spot and didn’t show much initiative until the eventual winner had all the momentum.

HORSES TO FOLLOW:

Red Cardinal- He’s back. Just needs a dry track
Iconoclasm- He can keep winning in similar grade now he’s got the win under the belt
Havasay- Don’t think many missed his run
The Cliffsofmoher- Lovely Cups trial
A Prince Of Arran- Lovely Melbourne Cup trial

ONE MORE CHANCE:

Beaten by a star, but Oohood is back to her best. The deeper the prep goes, the better she’s getting. Enormous win in the Flight and then was out the back in the Caulfield Guineas but still rattled home to run third. Likely heading towards the Myer Classic where she’ll get the 49.5kg and gee she’ll be hard to beat.

NEVER EVER AGAIN:

She’s been a love child of mine for 18 months…but the time has come to say goodbye to Egg Tart. I, along with others, including Chris Waller, thought she could be the heir apparent to Winx after her three year old season, but she just hasn’t gone on with it despite promising signs in Brisbane in the Winter. She had her chance on Saturday but when Dourkhan is running past you late, you know you’re in trouble.