Monday Rewind: State-by-state expert analysis on who to circle and who to bin
OUR experts look back at their metropolitan meetings in their respective backyards on Saturdayand give us their assessment of the best and worst performers.
OUR experts look back at their metropolitan meetings in their respective backyards on Saturdayand give us their assessment of the best and worst performers
MICHAEL MANLEY (Herald Sun)
â– Flemington
BLITZED
Craig Williams — A masterclass from this champion jockey with five winners. Form is exposed at this time of the year without horses coming from left field and Williams with his scrupulous attention to detail knows exactly where to have his mounts best positioned to win.
Darren Weir — The Weir juggernaut landed another treble. His horses are also invariably in the right spot due to the homework of Peter Ellis and the trainer himself.
BLUNDERED
Chance To Dance — Started at remarkably short odds in the Winter Championship and was the first horse beaten. A rare blip for Craig Williams, as he probably had him too close in the run.
HOT
Robert Smerdon/Iggimacool — Astute placement (naturally) by Smerdon to target the Winter Championship with this underrated Tassie mare.
Brad Rawiller — Great strike rate in town and added another double combining with Weir to win with Killarney Kid and Master Of Arts.
Master Of Arts — Smart stayer. Not sure what happened at Sandown when he was defeated three starts ago but two wins since have been impressive. Bendigo Cup would be a nice race for him.
NOT
Galaxy Raider — Well backed to win the first but never a factor.
HORSES TO FOLLOW
Prince Of Brooklyn — Finished hard to just fail behind Lord Von Costa. Should now be ready.
Jerilderie Letter — Loomed to win but was just anchored by big weight in the closing stages.
All Out Of Love — Ran home strongly off slow speed for third in the Taj Rossi Final. Smart filly in the making.
SHAYNE O’CASS (The daily Telegraph)
â– Royal Randwick
BLITZED
The TAB Highway Handicap concept has been a huge success and a fantastic initiative from Racing NSW, the TAB and the ATC. Why? For one it gives punters something to puzzle over with form from all over the state — that means value for the wise. But more importantly, it gives our country trainers a chance to win at Randwick or Rosehill. Saturday was another great story — Emma Longmire taking out the Highway with $61 Thunder Road. Subsequent to the win, Emma was on SKY TV and Radio the next day plus got heaps of coverage in The Daily Telegraph.
BLUNDERED
Eight out of nine favourites got done on Saturday, so this week’s award goes to them as a group. Perhaps it would be unfair to single one out but El Novio seemed to take more than his share of punters down with the ship.
HOT
TC, aka, Top Cat, aka Tim Clark, aka Clarky rode another double at Randwick on Saturday. The former Riverina whiz-kid rode a double at the last Randwick meeting before that. To quote the great man, Frank Sinatra, it’s been a very good year.
NOT
Tree of Jesse looked primed for a bold first-up bid, as per usual, but she was well below her best beaten a little over 10-lens. Nothing a freshen-up and a drop back in distance won’t cure.
HORSES TO FOLLOW
Badajoz, Zayam, Tender
BEN SCADDEN (The Advertiser)
â– Morphettville
BLITZED
It’s been quite a return for popular hoop Ben Claridge, who spent almost 12 months on the sideline with a shoulder injury. He punched home Subiaso at Morphettville at his first ride back then backed it up with another winner at Port Augusta on Sunday.
BLUNDERED
There’s been plenty of hype around Hong Kong apprentice Matthew Poon — but he was brought back to earth at Morphettvilleon Saturday, copping a three-meeting ban for careless riding.
HOT
Matthew Neilson edged back to within two wins of Jason Holder on the Adelaide jockeys’ premiership thanks to a double on the Lindsay Park pair Zubaqa and Super Fun.
NOT
It was a tough day for top jockey Jamie Kah at Morphettville on Saturday. She finished second in four races — three were beaten less than a head.
HORSES TO FOLLOW
Equally impressive wins by Showpero and Victory Downs on Saturday. Showpero is likely to head to the Lightning Stakes in a fortnight, while Victory Downs will probably have another run before tackling the Balaklava Cup at the end of next month.
BEN DORRIES (The Courier Mail)
â– Doomben
BLITZED
Jeff Lloyd for his winning quartet at Doomben and Craig Williams for five of the best at Flemington
Amazing efforts by both riders. Not often a jockey rides four winners at a meeting — and is bettered by another jockey in another state on the same day.
BACK
Huge run by Misery at Doomben after somehow ending up three-wide from barrier three. Also copped a bump in the straight. Extremely brave to finish second. Follow!
Trenchant secured a hard-fought victory after being stuck wide at Flemington. Has the X-factor to be a star of the future.
Snow Fields is learning all the time. Will spell now but the Doomben win was impressive enough to suggest she could have a very good three year-old season.
SACK
Hi Son (Doomben) will surely never start favourite in any race ever again. Has now gone 660 days without winning. Lacks desire and the killer punch.
May be a tad harsh to sack Sooboog as ran all right. But was unplaced at Flemington, continuing an ordinary win strike-rate. You wouldn’t want to have your last on him.
Sebrina is a noted swimmer but struggled on her favourite wet track after appearing to get every chance at Randwick.
MARKETS
COX PLATE
Moonee Valley, October 22
$3 Winx
$10 Werther
$16 Azkadellia
$17 the United States, Maurice
$21 Yankee Rose, Lucia Valentina
$26 Tarzino, Turn Me Loose
MELBOURNE CUP
Flemington, November 1
$13 Order Of St George
$15 Antiquarium
$17 Tarzino
$21 Albert, Amralah, Big Orange, Fame Game, Gallante, Max Dynamite, Protectionist
THIS WEEK
Tuesday: Wyong, Wellington, Murtoa.
Wednesday: Moonee Valley, Doomben, Grafton, Warwick Farm, Morphettville, Belmont, Darwin.
Thursday: Grafton, Cranbourne, Rockhampton, Northam.
Friday: Ipswich, Scone, Geelong, Canberra.
Saturday: Eagle Farm, Caulfield, Rosehill, Kembla Grange, Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Belmont, Gawler, Devonport, Darwin.
Sunday: Sunshine Coast, Grafton, Pakenham, Wodonga, Kalgoorlie, Naracoorte, Alice Springs.
THE TALKING POINT
The NSW greyhound racing shutdown.
Some other state governments may now be looking for any excuse to ban greyhound racing in their states, if they think it will be a vote winner for them at the polls. The animal activists will now be looking to turn the blowtorch on thoroughbred racing.
THE QUOTE
“Turn that (result) over and I will take up greyhound training in NSW. We haven’t got long enough to discuss what I think of this farcical whip rule,” trainer Rob Heathcote, to stewards during the whip protest at Doomben on Saturday.
Originally published as Monday Rewind: State-by-state expert analysis on who to circle and who to bin
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