Trainer Mitchell Beer big winner as COVID horse racing restrictions ease between NSW and Victoria
The border gates are not completely open, but they are slightly ajar as Racing NSW eases restrictions as COVID-19 cases continue to drop in Victoria. Why this means ‘Christmas time’ for border trainer Mitchell Beer.
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The decline of COVID-19 cases in Victoria has prompted Racing NSW to ease restrictions that have prevented horses from the southern state travelling into NSW.
Horses not currently located in the Greater Melbourne Metropolitan Area will be able to enter NSW.
The news is a huge boost to trainers based near the border including Albury’s Mitchell Beer, who said weeks ago that the closing of the border was the worst thing he had encountered in his training career.
But his mood was much better on Wednesday knowing he can move horses to racetracks in country Victoria.
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“It’s deadset Christmas Day here,” Beer said. “Thank you to all our amazing owners for sticking by us in this time. Can’t wait for them to be back.”
Horses can only travel into NSW under strict protocols like cleaning of transport vehicles and only using one driver to transport a horse.
An application also must be made to Racing NSW stewards and if cleated that Victorian horse can only be transported to a spelling paddock or pre-training property and only stay there for two days prior to being sent to a racecourse to run.
LEGEND RETURNS TO THE FOLD
Everest hope Classique Legend had his first barrier trial since winning the June Stakes three months ago and he impressed jockey Kerrin McEvoy.
The five-year-old grey covered the 800m at Newcastle in 48.59 seconds, beating Tactical Advantage by nearly 2 ½ lengths.
“That was good,” McEvoy said.
“It was only a small field but we were able to jump out and sit outside a horse and he was nice and happy.
“He improved a bit up the running and he did some nice work without asking for a full effort.”
Classique Legend ran an unlucky sixth in The Everest last year behind Yes Yes Yes when getting caught up in traffic in the straight.
When McEvoy was told he ran his last 600m yesterday in 33.14 seconds he was a little surprised.
“That’s sharp. It felt like he did it in fourth gear,” he said.
PUNTERS WORSE FOR WEAR AFTER DEFEAT
Punters were left feeling sick at Randwick on Wednesday when $2.20 favourite Malkovich went down to $21 outsider Orpheum on the Kensington track.
More than half the money in the race was invested on Malkovich who firmed all week off two stunning six-length barrier trial wins but he faded in the straight when leading.
In the other three-year-old race Game Theory beat a handy field for new training partnership Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou.
Ryan said punters should see him over more ground in the three-year-old events this spring.
“He’s a nice horse who will get over 2000m,” Ryan said.
“We’ll let him tell us (where he goes). He keeps improving in the feed bin.
“If he’s a staying three-year-old that can get 2000m he might be better racing than in the paddock.”
ELLEEGANT ARRIVAL SOUNDS ALARM BELLS FOR RIVALS
Verry Elleegant made an early statement that she is the nation’s dominant middle distance weight-for-age horse this season with her stunning Winx Stakes comeback win at Royal Randwick last Saturday.
Despite having to cope with a frenetic early race tempo, a wide run where she was exposed to strong winds and resuming over an unsuitable 1400m sprint trip, Verry Elleegant was still able to find a way to win the first Group 1 race of the new season, albeit narrowly from a stellar field.
Trainer Chris Waller already has the nation’s best sprinter, Nature Strip, in his stable, and now he could also have the best horse for races at 1600m and further this spring with Verry Elleegant.
It could be argued Verry Elleegant already holds that title as she was outstanding last autumn winning the Tancred Stakes (2400m) and nearly claimed a Group 1 treble only to finish second to English raider Addeybb in the Ranvet Stakes and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Jockey James McDonald said after Verry Elleegant’s Winx Stakes win that it was “scary” to think what the mare could do this spring when she gets out to her preferred distance race.
Waller has indicated he is likely to keep Verry Elleegant for the Group 1 George Main Stakes (1600m) at Royal Randwick on September 16 as her next start before determining the mare’s spring campaign with races like the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup her likely goals.
Waller used the Winx (formerly Warwick) Stakes to launch three of all-time great Winx’s successful Cox Plate preparations in 2016-17-18 but interestingly no winner of the Randwick 1400m weight-for-age race has trained on to win the Melbourne Cup that spring.
Saintly (1996) and Phar Lap (1930) ran second in the Warwick Stakes before winning the Melbourne Cup while Kingston Town won a third successive Warwick Stakes in 1982 but he was run down by Gurner’s Lane in the Melbourne Cup later that spring.
Verry Elleegant firmed in betting for many of the spring majors after her Winx Stakes return but there were a number of encouraging runs behind the winner including Star Of The Seas, Fierce Impact (third), Imaging (fourth), Con Te Partiro (fifth) and Zebrowski (eighth).
But one of the runs of the day wasn’t at Royal Randwick but at the Newcastle provincial meeting when three-year-old colt Mo’unga maintained his unbeaten record with a dominant effort against older horses in a benchmark 64 race over 1400m.
Mo’unga, named after the All Blacks five-eighth Richie Mo’unga, is a three-year-old colt by Savabeel from the Waller stable and has won both his starts so impressively he’s vaulted to the top of betting for the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick during the spring carnival.
BERRY NICE FOR STAR JOCKEY
Dame Giselle’s tough front-running effort to win the Group 2 Silver Shadow Stakes continued star jockey Tommy Berry’s brilliant start to the 2020-21 season.
Berry has come out of the blocks running this season and has ridden 16 winners since August 1 to lead the national premiership while his 10 city wins has him on top of the Sydney rankings.
But Berry’s momentum will be stalled slightly as he commences a careless riding suspension that will keep him out of the San Domenico Stakes meeting at Rosehill next Saturday.
“This is the best start I’ve had to a season,’’ Berry said. “I did finish off last season really well and that has set me up for this season.
“I was second in the (Sydney jockey) premiership in my first year back (from Hong Kong) and third last season and that has made me hungrier to try and win the title
“I know it is very, very hard to do so in Sydney because of the quality of jockeys we have in Sydney so what I am concentrating on is consistency this season.
“I don’t like breaking my momentum as everything is going so well but I’m not concentrating on winning the premiership right now, it is too long a season to be doing that but my focus is to try and win the title.’’
EVEREST PUSH FOR GODOLPHIN ACE
The push for Eduardo to secure a start in the $15 million The TAB Everest is gaining traction.
Godolphin’s James Cummings described the Eduardo sprint form-line as being as “good as it gets so far this season” after his sprinter, Rohern, followed a July Sprint second to Eduardo by winning the Group 3 Show County Quality.
Imaging also franked the form when he came off his third to Eduardo in the Missile Stakes to be the unlucky running the Group 1 Winx Stakes when fourth to Verry Elleegant.
Eduardo’s trainer Joe Pride is adamant his sprinter won’t be out of place in The Everest and hopes the gelding will secure a slot when he runs in the Group 2 The Shorts next month.
Pride is also pushing The Everest claims of his classy mare Fasika who edged out Gytrash in a Warwick Farm barrier trial last Friday.
Meanwhile, Cummings completed a Randwick brace with Zakat winning the closer while his decision to send boom mare Tailleur to Melbourne was rewarded with a six-lengths romp at a water-logged Moonee Valley.
BEST WISHES REST WITH ADKINS, DUGGAN
Injured jockey Andrew Adkins is continuing his recovery from serious injury when he starts intensive physiotherapy treatment on Monday.
Adkins has retained a positive mindset despite suffering a broken leg, ribs and collarbone in a Rosehill fall last month.
Also on the injured jockey front, mother-of-three Jenny Duggan said she is “getting better every day’’ after she was left with fractures to her neck, right shoulder, left wrist, right foot and nose after a fall at Scone in May.
YOUNGS GUNS TO DUEL IN SAN DOMENICO
The San Domenico Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday is shaping as another compelling contest between some of this season’s bumper crop of three-year-olds with unbeaten Doubtland, Mamaragan and Anders likely starters.
But at the Royal Randwick barrier trials session on Tuesday, last season’s juvenile triple crown winning colts Farnan (Golden Slipper) and King’s Legacy (ATC Sires Produce Stakes, Champagne Stakes) clash in a 1050m heat that also includes Positive Peace, Shout The Bar, Shared Ambition, Splintex and Danzdanzdance.
Also trialling on Tuesday is Doncaster Mile heroine Nettoyer and Hungary’s superhorse Nancho, a last start Group 1 winner in Germany who is now with the Anthony Cummings stable at Randwick.
VEERY UGLY: THE CASH OUT HORROR SHOW
One TAB customer must be feeling very sorry for him or herself after cashing out a four-leg multi at the Randwick meeting that would have resulted in a collect of more than $85,000.
The TAB punter placed a $40 four-leg multi at odds of $2129.60 in Kiss The Bride (race 1), Sweet Deal (Toy Show Quality), Verry Elleegant (Winx Stakes) and Zakat (race 9).
After Kiss The Bride and Sweet Deal won, the punter decided to cash out for $323.41 — only for Verry Elleegant and Zakat to win, missing out on a potential collect of $85,184.
RON DUFFICY’S RANDWICK SNAPSHOT
RUN OF THE DAY
Verry Elleegant has to lay claims to being the best horse in Australia after her 1st up G1 win in the Winx Stakes. She wasn’t wound up, didn’t have the easiest of runs and wasn’t at her best distance but she showed great fight and determination of the good mare she is.
FORGET THEY RAN
If you were trying to pick the winner before the turn Seasons would have been a very short priced favourite as she was traveling so well. But it all turned ugly in the straight when she was disappointed for runs. She should have gone close to winning.
THE BLACK BOOK
Plenty to work with here starting with the Brett Cavanough pair out of the Tab Highway, It’s Me and Pinnacle Prince can charge through the grades before trying tougher options while the Waller stayers resuming Masaff, Yonkers and Kinane all got more than pass marks.
RIDE OF THE DAY
All of the winning rides were great on Saturday but the winning doubles of Josh Parr and Jason Collett were particularly impressive.
Originally published as Trainer Mitchell Beer big winner as COVID horse racing restrictions ease between NSW and Victoria