Last week Pride Of Jenni slapped her opposition into submission in the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes. She did that as an eight-year-old so, apart from all of the other hype which came with the win, she scored one for the older brigade … and the two eight-year-olds, Private Eye and Rothfire, who will line up in the Doomben 10,000 on Saturday will be looking to re-enforce the message that the veterans still have some bite left in them and that the Class of 2017 should not be dismissed too lightly.
Having said that, Private Eye and Rothfire obviously face quite a task against the younger horses with some rivals being half their age … and under, with the likes of the emerging three-year-old’s Grafterburners, Devil Knight, Beadman and maybe Napoleonic (who has yet to gain a confirmed place in the lineup) all on an upward trajectory.
But, on the plus side, Private Eye and Rothfire both bring solid, well established, battle-hardened Group 1 credentials to the game which can be go some way to offsetting any loss of ‘edge’ in their ability that age might have brought. Honest performances have also been their trademark, so you generally have to beat them on merit. They just don’t lie down easily.
And with the Rawiller brothers taking these rides … Nash on Private Eye and Brad on Rothfire … they will certainly not be short of experienced guidance from the saddle.
Private Eye is a fourteen-time winner from fifty starts with $12 850 685 banked in prize-money.
His wins include the $1.5 million Group 1 Epsom and the $3 million Nature Strip Stakes … but it is the races in which he finished second that helps tell the full story.
Private Eye finished second in the $1.5 million Group 1 Stradbroke (behind Alligator Blood and only marginally ahead of the third placed Rothfire). He finished second the $15 million The Everest (when only beaten to the line by Giga Kick). He finished second in the Group 1 Lightning Stakes behind Imperatrix. He finished second behind Pericles in the Group 2 Tramway … and he finished second in the $1 million Supernova behind Warnie.
Yes, you do have to scroll back in time to find the bulk of those results … but they do speak of quality … and that Supernova result was as recent as last November.
Private Eye has had one run since the Supernova where he finished third to the very smart Mazu coming home less than half-a-length behind the winner in the Group 3 Hall Mark Stakes, a result which indicated that there is no doubt that the Joe Pride trained son of Al Maher can still throw a punch.
Rothfire, for his part, is an eleven-time winner from forty-three starts with $4 859 376 banked in prize-money.
His last win came in Sydney in the $2 million Group 3 Sydney Stakes in October.
The Robert Heathcote trained son of Rothesay came oh so close to winning the Doomben 10,000 last year when only going down late to the faster finishing Sunshine In Paris. He also has a close-up second place finish in the $3 million Stradbroke behind Think About to his credit … as well as a runner-up finish in a Group 1 in Victoria in the Manikato behind the formidable Bella Nipotina.
Like Private Eye, Rothfire’s results demands every respect … his race record being even more remarkable given that he was put out of action for twelve months in the prime of his career with what, at the time was considered a possible career threatening injury.
It will be a stretch to try and label either of these eight-year-olds as the likely winner of the Doomben 10 000, but the certainly is they are not here to make up the numbers.
Private Eye is currently an $11 chance, while Rothfire is all the way out at $46.
The race favourite is the Ciaron Maher trained Jimmysstar at $3.20. The $5 second favourite is Napoleonic, who, as an emergency acceptor, has yet to gain a confirmed starts.
