‘Incredible he hasn’t reach a ceiling yet’: James McDonald in awe of Caulfield Guineas favourite Broadsiding
Comparisons with Anamoe were inevitable, but James McDonald says Caulfield Guineas favourite Broadsiding is on his way to reaching the same heights.
Horse Racing
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Getting around Caulfield can be a trick for Sydney horses but champion jockey James McDonald has such no concerns for triple Group 1 winner Broadsiding.
McDonald is adamant the superstar Godolphin colt, a hot $1.60 favourite with Ladbrokes for the Caulfield Guineas, has the right attributes to get the job done on Saturday.
“He’s a very well balanced horse, so Caulfield doesn’t worry me one iota,” McDonald said.
“I don’t think I’d be too worried or have any concerns with this horse, he’s really light on his feet and he’s very, very well balanced.
“If you’re going to have a perfect Caulfield horse, they’re two things you really need.”
• Four-Play, Quadzilla: $200 betting strategy for Caulfield
Broadsiding raced in Ballarat on debut in February, fourth in what turned out to be a hot maiden, with Caulfield Guineas contender Evaporate finishing second in the same event.
Broadsiding punctuated a stellar two-year-old campaign with Group 1 Champagne Stakes and JJ Atkins victories.
He resumed with a tenacious Group 1 Golden Rose win, getting the better of the race fit Traffic Warden.
Broadsiding has drawn early comparisons to Godolphin champion Anamoe at the same stage.
The 2021 Caulfield Guineas was Anamoe’s second of nine career wins in elite company.
Broadsiding has three in the bag already.
While McDonald could not ride Anamoe in the Caulfield Guineas due to a clash with The Everest, won by Nature Strip, he piloted the Cox Plate champion to eight Group 1 triumphs.
“This horse is probably a bit more seasoned than Anamoe at the same time,” McDonald, who has three Caulfield Guineas on Shooting To Win (2014), The Autumn Sun (2018) and Golden Mile (2022), said.
“He’s not superior to those colts (Anamoe and The Autumn Sun), I have no doubt he’s probably their equal, Anamoe was a phenomenal horse, so it’s hard to compare him to him and same with The Autumn Sun, what they did on the racetrack.
“He’s still got a bit to go, but he’s well on the way, no doubt.”
• ‘His best chance’: Mr Brightside all set for final frontier
Ratings expert Daniel O’Sullivan, of The Rating Bureau, said Broadsiding profiled “very similar” to Anamoe into the Caulfield Guineas.
“Anamoe had a peak rating of 102 as a two-year-old when he won the Group 1 Sires’ at 1400m … we never saw him at a mile as a two-year-old,” O’Sullivan said.
“Broadsiding had a 103 rating peak as a two-year-old when he won the Group 1 JJ Atkins over 1600m.”
O’Sullivan rated Anamoe 103.1 for second in the 2021 Golden Rose and 103.5 victorious in the Caulfield Guineas.
Broadsiding raced to a mark of 102.5, based on O’Sullivan’s ratings, in the Golden Rose last start, “a fraction below Anamoe but he didn’t have the benefit of a first-up run”.
• Caulfield Guineas tips, runner-by-runner form analysis
McDonald marvelled Broadsiding’s will to win and continued progression.
“The thing about him I suppose is he’s had this knack of improving with each run,” McDonald said.
“It’s incredible he hasn’t reached a ceiling yet, every run he’s improved more and more … it’s a pretty rare thing to do at this level.”
McDonald, a 99-time Group 1 winner, will aim to exploit the distance queries on the opposition, with Broadsiding proven at the 1600m.
“Only two horses in this race even raced beyond 1400m, so there’s a lot that have to make a significant jump,” McDonald said.
“There seems to be a few improvers, what I found most interesting a lot of these horses aren’t really bred to run a mile.
Drawn nine of 11 is also not a concern, with McDonald happy, if required, to emulate the deeds of The Autumn Sun in 2018.
“The Autumn Sun was very short from memory ($1.70) and he did it the tough way, he sat three wide, one or two pairs back and blazed on by,” McDonald said.
“Probably if you draw comparisons to the fields, they’re very similar, there was a bit of a tail to that field, maybe this one might be the same.”
Originally published as ‘Incredible he hasn’t reach a ceiling yet’: James McDonald in awe of Caulfield Guineas favourite Broadsiding
Baker cooking up an Alan Brown upset
Trainer Bjorn Baker believes the improving Iknowastar can overcome his first-up hoodoo but warned punters to write off Belclare at their peril in the feature race at Rosehill on Saturday.
Kembla preview: Kazotsky ready to kick up his heels with a win
Kazotsky felt the pinch late on testing ground last start but trainer Edward O’Rourke expects the gelding to be much better this time out on a quick back-up.