Race 1. 1200M PARRAMATTA ADVERTISER DARBY MUNRO STAKES
SEA LORD GLYN SCHOFIELD 1st $26
PALOMARES KERRIN MCEVOY 2nd $4F
MY DESTINY TIM CLARK 3rd $151
Palomares was well backed here and I thought her on pace effort first up was very good although she didn’t win. Sea Lord was able to win a couple of races whilst fresh this campaign before looking to be somewhat disappointing at those last two starts. He got down again in the weights a little here and stepped back to the 1200m which suited and the solid tempo meant he was able to produce an excellent sprint and finish over the top of them. Military Rose who was on pace faded in the straight under the big weight and another well backed runner Torios Quest got too far back in the running and never looked a winning chance at any stage of the race.
Race 2. 1200M PERFECT VISION ILASIK PAGO PAGO STAKES
SALADE COREY BROWN 1st $9
BOYS ON TOUR JIM BYRNE 2nd $12
EXCEED AND EXALT NATHAN BERRY 3rd $17
Peter Moody had yet another favourite here in Master Harry whose only defeat had come at the hands of Sepoy. He was pretty solid in the market throughout betting but got the stitch half way up the straight and the paddock looks to be his next stop. I was pretty keen to see how the Begg trained Written Consent went here as I thought he was pretty good but after enjoying what looked to be a nice run he punctured badly and finished last. Looking forward to the Slipper I think the winner Salade must be considered. That was just his first race start and the way he hit the line was impressive. He will need to improve considerably to challenge in the Slipper and I think he will.
Race 3. 1800M ILLAWARRA MERCURY KEITH F NOLAN CLASSIC
BRAZILIAN PULSE CRAIG WILLIAMS 1st $1.65F
FIBRILLATION GLYN SCHOFIELD 2nd $16
HONOR NET CHRISTIAN REITH 3rd $17
I had a concern over Brazilian Pulse going from 1400 to 1800 and was proved to be wrong. She is a very good filly. She is of course the Oaks winner from the Spring last year and is in the hands of a master trainer of stayers Michael Moroney. Williams was able to get her into a perfect spot just off the leaders and was then pushed a little wider at the turn than he would have liked. He later said she did a few things wrong going the Sydney way for the first time under race conditions. Once she was able to straighten and balance up however she showed her class and was able to pull away for a very good win. She will significantly improve from that run and at this stage she has a mortgage on the Oaks. Fibrilation did her best work late and hit the line well. They will push on to the Oaks where she will be fighting for second place. Don’t forget the winner was carrying 4kg more than the rest and the Oa ks is at level weights.
Race 4. 1200M THE TRIPLE M GRILL TEAM MAGIC NIGHT STAKES
ALTAR JOSHUA PARR 1st $8
PANE IN THE GLASS JIM BYRNE 2nd $4.60
AEROBATICS COREY BROWN 3rd $11
The Freedman runner Retsina was heavily backed and looked to enjoy a good enough run in transit before not finding anything in the straight. She was the third horse to fail in the last two weeks out of that race at Flemington (Golden Archer earlier today and Kid Kobe last week). The winner Altar was pretty good I thought. She is a daughter of classy mare Hosannah. She was given a gun ride by Parr and kept finding when she needed to for a pull away win. Pane In The Glass worked pretty hard early from the draw to get into a good position in running and that may explain her lack of sprint in the straight. I thought a handful of times she looked as if she would run over the top of them but she was just unable to make any significant ground on the winner.
Race 5. 1500M HYLAND RACE COLOURS AJAX STAKES
PURENESS GLEN BOSS 1st $2.50F
MENTALITY COREY BROWN 2nd $21
LEBRECHAUN JIM CASSIDY 3rd $8.50
I thought that Pureness was one of the wins of the day. I like horses that can overcome problems and race against their normal pattern and still win and that’s exactly what he was able to do here. At the start he was slow out of the gates and that shot to pieces any chance he had of leading like we all thought he would. That man Boss was in the saddle though and he is on fire. At no stage did he panic and he ensured Pureness was out of trouble in the run and that once they entered the straight he had clear room. The horse did the rest and with just 52kg was able to work to the line really well and win. Mentality was very good also I thought. He was a victim of his early success the last few years but his rating has dropped and he is now allocated realistic winning weights in these handicaps. It’s worth noting how well he went on this dead 5 as he is also a renowned dry tracker, his run was excellent.
Race 6. 1900M DE BORTOLI WINES EPONA STAKES
GALIZANI JIM CASSIDY 1st $6
VIVID VIXEN GLEN BOSS 2nd $6.50
VINTEDGE KERRIN MCEVOY 3rd $17
The winner here Galizani was hammered in the betting and was as much as $17 in early markets but just $6 Starting Price. It was a lovely ride by Cassidy who is certainly riding very well at the moment and is building a very good association with the Patinack team. He settled her back of midfield throughout the run and started working into it at the turn. It was clear by the 150m that she was the superior stayer of these mares and she worked to the line very well to score an impressive win for the stable and the punters. Vivid Vixen was very good also. She was asked to carry 5kg more than the winner here and took up a on pace role throughout and fought on extremely well. I thought that Vintedge and Small Minds did pretty well also. The rest of the fancied runners were disappointing. Skyerush can be forgiven.
Race 7. 2000M FLINDERS LANE ROSEHILL GUINEAS
JIMMY CHOUX JONATHAN RIDDELL 1st $4.60F
RETRIEVE KERRIN MCEVOY 2nd $6
SHAMROCKER DAMIEN OLIVER 3rd $5.50
This is always an excellent race and we weren’t let down with the 2011 edition. Jimmy Choux is a real top class 3yo. That was his third win in a group 1 and unlike the others he is a winner and proven over 2400m where he won the NZ Derby. He can go on all conditions and can settle close or run on. Like Brazilian Pulse
I think he looks to have one hand on the trophy for the Derby and only bad luck will beat him at this stage.Retrieve was excellent here. He was only third up and and out to the trip they decided to push forward on him. He does look to have improvement in him but I do prefer him when he gets back and takes a sit. I think
that he is the main danger in the Derby. Shamrocker is running out of her skin. She was against the boys again here. She hit the line really well for Oliver but is still a level below Brazilian Pulse.Absolutelyawesome didn’t look to stay the trip. He was given every chance by Boss throughout but failed to find what he needed down the straight.
Race 8. 2400M EXPONET N E MANION CUP
BID SPOTTER MICHAEL RODD 1st $31
ABOVE AVERAGE COREY BROWN 2nd $5.50
STAND TO GAIN GLYN SCHOFIELD 3rd $51
They jumped out of trees here to back Once Were Wild. It must have been a gum tree and they must have eaten too many leaves. Once Were Wild was third up and 1600 out to 2400 with 58.5kg from barrier 15. She was always going to struggle and did. Ironstein is officially sacked. He had the easiest of runs and just couldn’t find anything when asked. Lorne Dancer led with 59kg and was gone on the turn. Thought the run ofAbove Average was excellent. He was third up and was given every chance by Brown. He looks to be right on track for his target races and needs to be followed. Bid Spotter was given a Michael Rodd special. Its not often horses storm up the inside to win but I guess that he was aided a little by the fact they were off the fence. When most were doing the form here I’m sure they didn’t regard the Tasmanian form as being that sound but we were proved wrong.
Horses to follow: Jimmy Choux, Brazilian Pulse, Pureness.