Sydney: Comprehensive preview of every race at Canterbury

A COMPREHENSIVE preview of every race for Wednesday’s meet at Canterbury with Shayne O’Cass

In-form female apprentice Deanne Panya has a good book of rides at Canterbury on Wednesday. Picture: Simon Bullard.

NOTE: RACES are assessed for a Good 4. All horses are considered starters unless notified by Monday at 1 PM. (N/R) denotes no rating.

RACE 1

5. WILD AVA (57) beat Foxplay in a Rosehill trial on May 9 then 8-days later made her debut at Bathurst in a 1200m Mdn. The $1.70 was very charitable I thought. She spelled and trialled really well again before going to Kembla on Sep. 24 and seemingly had every chance but 0.2-lens 2nd is hardly a disgrace. She is gate 4 here which is ideal and she’s always looked midweek class, even before she went out to Bathurst. 7. TYPHOON TESS (53) is an interesting runner. She is by Redoute’s Choice out of Gallant Tess and thus a three-quarter-sister to Rock Hero. Her form is nothing to write home about, most of the trials fall into the same category but I did see one that was okay (May 27) and with no weight, a good draw and Deanne Panya on, maybe if she ran up to her pedigree she could place at double figure odds (the place — pay one-two only you see). And one more thing, Typhoon Tess was scratched from WF yesterday. 4. MISS BALLANTINE (62) is a Redoute’s Choice as well. The Chris Waller trained mare resumed with an on pace (very well ridden) win at Hawkesbury in that 1300m Mdn on Sep. 22. I guess if you wanted to have a query with her ... it’s shouldn’t she be going up in distance not back?

RACE 2

4. POTENT FORCE (N/R) is a Gooree owned and bred gelding trained naturally enough by James Cummings. Just one little aside on the pedigree — not only is Potent Force by Fastnet Rock who is on 99 stakeswinners going into this weekend, this one’s dam, Comical Smile, has thrown Smart Missile (also by Fastnet), Kiss From A Rose (she was good!) and Surge Ahead. What a mare! Potent Force ran out of skin first-up at the $21 when 0.3-lens 2nd to Criterion's half brother Comin’ Through at WF then was 0.2-lens 2nd at Kembla in a decent looking maiden on Sep. 27 and was unlucky not to win IMO. Third-up now, he only needs some luck from gate 1. 2. HOLLYWOOD MO (N/R) was a grouse 1.1 len 5th in the Comin’ Through race then was even better at the Farm 7-days later on the back-up when a closing 0.3-lens 3rd to Cross Stitch in the demolition derby mile maiden. Can’t wait to see his horse at 2000m bearing in mind he is by Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist’s sire, Uncle Mo, out of a Galileo mare. Who knows maybe he could be there on VRC Derby day? Paul Perry always has a winner in the Melbourne spring. 3. POLEMIC (N/R) is a lovely Street Cry colt that got back and made ground to run 2.9-lens 4th to Miss Ballantine at Hawkesbury. Fitter for the outing and remember, he ran a crackerjack race on debut at Randwick on Anzac Day behind his super stylish stablemate Peacock, Earth was 3rd.

RACE 3

I HAVE liked 1. MIAMI DADE (65) since before he raced, he trialled one day like a champion. Okay so he’s no Hartnell or Astern but he’s handy and this is a midweeker 65 and he is a 65 rater. The main point to take into consideration vis-a-vie Miami Dade is that he has been on soft tracks 6 times and yes, he won one of them, but I am convinced he is lengths better on the dry. He is out of an Elusive Quality mare (and a very good one I might add). Went enormous first-up at the Farm and the step to 1550m is tailor made. 3. NO RETURN (62) is a Waller/Bowman gelding that is 3s 0-0-0 first-up but I kinda liked the way he hit the line under no pressure when a 0.2-lens 2nd in that 1030m heat at Rosehill. That was his second trial so unless the market says otherwise, I am presuming he’s fit enough to run 1550m around this circuit. 8. LADY CORELLI (61) drew 16 at Beaumont last Saturday so was quite understandably reserved for this race. She hasn’t done much wrong with a record of 11s 3-4-0. Admittedly they are C1 and C2 races away from town and by a nose each time but who is to say a mare in form can’t measure up.

RACE 4

I WAS super keen on 6. ASHJATA (66) last Wednesday at Rosehill but she was first emergency and missed the run. It is a pity for her trainer Danny Williams because now he has three in this same race. Anyway, it won’t matter so long as he wins with one of them and I do think it will be Ashjata. She is a 7YO mare now but she’s only had the 17 runs but she’s been terribly consistent and well placed returning 4-5-3. She is 6s 2-3-0 at the trip and 5s 1-1-2 fresh. Ashjata has been to Sydney three times to race, she wasn’t beaten too far here at Canterbury one day when hard in the market, then another time she was 0.5-lens 3rd in a TAB Highway at Rosehill. The last time she made the trip up from Goulburn was for the Country Championship Final where she was $12 into $8.50 but finished 10-lens behind Clearly Innocent. 4. SERVE AND VOLLEY (70) has won at WF and Canterbury in two of her four starts this prep. She was very unlucky at Rosehill at one of the others and she wasn’t exactly thrashed or disgraced at the other unplaced run — that was at WF on Sep. 21. Pattern wise, she is win, loss, win, loss so the theory goes win tomorrow — ah, if it was only that easy, we’d all be rich. Barrier 9 of 9 is not good, it’s bad in fact, but she’s got great gate speed and not many Deanne Panya mounts miss the kick. 1. ALFRED THE GREAT (71) has caught (my) eye in his trials and is a good, honest, consistent, on-pacer. I must also mention 2. SATIRICAL MAGIC (69) who trialled in fabulous order at WF the other day. Respecting 5. ROCK OF MAHAL (65) with J-Mac riding for Bjorn Baker and also 3. KANDINSKY (67), the half to Nechita that won on debut but has been off the scene for a reasonable period.

RACE 5

1. MARYORE (72) has been outstanding in her three runs for Canberra trainer Philip Courtney since coming over from SA. She was 4th to Conarchie at her first run for the new management, then came to Canterbury and finished all over the top of them to win at the $21. I remember Courtney in the post-race interview on SKY being pretty bullish about her chances — turned out he was right. Now that last run at WF on Sep. 21 was also very good. She was $12 into $7, drew 14 of 14, was 13th at the 800m, 11th at the turn but ended up running 4th some 2.2-lens from the winner Takewing who basically never went around a horse. 8. SHANAKEE (65) is among many, many other chances in this quite competitive Bm72. The Bjorn Baker trained mare beat a decent C2 lot at Scone first-up followed by consecutive 2nds at Kembla, the last one by a nose to Dr Sykes with 4. LOTHARIO (66) in 3rd spot that day. Of my top three, the one best equipped IMO to appreciate the 1900m is definitely, absolutely, undeniably Maryore — in fact methinks it’s the key to victory for the mare.

RACE 6

THE ‘trial watchers horses’ at Canterbury tomorrow are jammed into the last two races, one here, four in the final race! More on them in a minute. The standout trialler in my mind in the penultimate is 11. ECCELLERE (58), a new recruit to the Gerald Ryan stable (ex Jim Litt). This 4YO mare of Exceed And Excel beat Aegean Sea and Kaepernick in a WF heat on Sep. 9 and was unbelievably impressive trust me. She backed it up with a 0.3-lens 3rd to Le Cordon Bleu in a Rosehill heat on Sep. 26. If you wanted to find a race for her in town, you’d want Canterbury 1100m and a good draw — well, as the great man Meatloaf once said ‘two out of three ain’t bad’. 7. BLAZING STEEL (66) was a huge tip on debut at Scone on Cup Day and got the job done despite some little obstacles being placed in his way. I must say, it was a ‘good horses win’. The Kris Lees trained 3YO came to town on Jun. 11, struck a heavy 8, ran 11th and was spelled. The winner of that race was Conchita who was the same filly that Blazing Steel finished 2nd to a Cessnock trial on Sep. 20, that’s 2nd by 10-lens folks. 2. WORDLY IMPACT (66) has come back in career best shape, he’s a 7YO now and racing like he’s a 3YO, with a 2nd and two wins from his three runs this time in work. He can be a bit ‘iffy’ at the start and has gate 11 but I am thinking he goes back anyway and just hopes for a fast pace.

RACE 7

I ALLUDED to four trial stars going head to head in the last race; they are actually my top four picks namely 4. RILLITO (70), 5 QUEEN MISTY (68), 1. SELITA (77) and 10. SANAYA (63). Even though I could easily see any of the quartet winning, I am quite comfortable to make Rillito my best bet on the program.. This daughter of Street Cry is 3s 2-0-1. She resumed on Nov. 7 last year and won at Beaumont by 5-lens. Three weeks later she was at MV and won a Bm70 by 0.2-lens but that’s a huge leap to make, narrow margin or otherwise. Her two trials have been just amazingly good, one easy 4th, then a brilliant win in successive 1050m heats. If this is run a frenetic pace, nothing in the race will finish faster than Queen Misty. The Les Bridge trained mare was a certainty beaten in a 1250m Bm72 here on May 25 at the end of her short, sharp second prep. Trialling like she runs — getting back and hitting the line. 1. SELITA (77) rounds out of a big book of rides for Deanne Panya tomorrow. I never bet in the Jockey Challenge but I might break my maiden and back Panya if she’s a half decent price. Panya rode Selita in the second of her two winning trials during September where she lead throughout to beat Russian Revolution and Speith — Hello? Massive trial!