Golden Slipper & Winx

Written By – can he win the Blue Diamond / Golden Slipper double?

As I’ve previously mentioned the Melbourne autumn racing season was disappointing overall, but in Sydney this weekend the race card at Rosehill looks excellent by contrast.

It’s Golden Slipper Day and it features five Group 1 races that include wonder mare Winx in the George Ryder Stakes.

As I had a concert to attend on this coming Saturday night, I originally planned not to attend the Golden Slipper meeting. That’s all changed as B, who was attending the concert with me, decided he didn’t want to go as getting to the venue (Palais Theatre in St Kilda) would be difficult in the extreme. With all the roadworks in progress between the northern and southern suburbs, it would be a pain to drive through. I have seen the artist Jason Isbell several times before, so don’t really mind missing the show. I sold the tickets on Gumtree in no time flat as the seats were actually very good.

Anyway, with the concert no longer an obligation, I decided I’d  go to Sydney for the Golden Slipper after all. So I’m Sydney bound again and hope things go more smoothly than the last time I travelled there.

Besides the Golden Slipper and George Ryder Stakes, there is also the Rosehill Guineas, Ranvet Stakes and Galaxy, all attracting quality fields, so it promises to be excellent in terms of good racing.

Winx faces five rivals in the George Ryder Stakes,  and should win it easily, especially as the track is likely to be on the slow side.  Her biggest threats are Happy Clapper and three year old star colt Kementari.  Hopefully the unthinkable will not happen and that Winx will clock up her 24th win in succession and 17th Group 1 victory. Go Winx!

The Golden Slipper has a field of 16 runners and comprise equal numbers of colts and fillies. Top picks of the colts are Blue Diamond Stakes winner Written By who is yet to be beaten having won his four starts, Santos and Aylmerton who have both won their last two races, and the Chris Waller trained Performer who was the early Golden Slipper favourite.

Of the fillies the standout is Sunlight who has a picket fence of five wins from her last five starts against her name, winning the Magic Millions Two Year Old Classic back in January , and the Group 2  Silver Slipper Stakes and Group 3 Magic Night Stakes at her last two starts. She certainly looks special. Other fillies with a chance are Enbihaar, Estijaab and Seabrook. As it’s a race for two year olds, anything can happen and often does.

The Ranvet Stakes (2000 metres) is the first of the Group 1 events and has a small field of familiar contestants that include the 2018 Australian Cup trifecta  Harlem, Gailo Chop and Ventura Storm along with Single Gaze and The Taj Mahal and 2016 Victoria Derby winner Prized Icon. The last mare to win the Ranvet Stakes was Silent Achiever back in 2014 , the only time before next weekend that I  have been to Rosehill. Does that bode well for the honest Single Gaze?

As for the Rosehill Guineas eight of the eigthteen strong field are New Zealanders with good NZ form and it’s understandable that NZ trainers would send their young stayers to Sydney in the autumn, as quite few Kiwis have won the Rosehill Guineas and Sydney Derby.  Last year Gingernuts won the Rosehill Guineas, and before him there was  Volkstok ‘n’ Barrell (2015) and It’s a Dundeel (2013). My sentimental pick is Ace High, so I hope he wins, but he’ll have to beat New Zealand Derby winner Vin De Dance, trained by the canny Murray Baker, and the in form Cliff’s Edge among several other challengers.

Sydney weather on Saturday is forecast to be partly cloudy and 28°C, though as it has rained there over the past few days, the track should be rated soft, which will suit the mighty mare.

Anyway, here’s hoping for good fortune in Sydney on Saturday and that I am not cursed by public transport, as I was yesterday when I went to Victoria Market and chose to catch the 250 Bus. Just near Rushall Station (my old stamping ground) the bus driver advised that he had been ordered to terminate the bus trip. So I plodded to Rushall Station and caught the train for the rest of my journey to the city.

Group 1 Glory – Orr Stakes

 
Black Heart Bart – winner of 2017 Orr Stakes

Finally the Melbourne Group 1 racing season kicks off this coming Saturday and a wonderful race card featuring the Group 1 Orr Stakes offers plenty to interest the dedicated racing fan.

The Orr Stakes is scheduled as Race 8, so it’s going to be a long afternoon in the sun at Caulfield Racecourse.

Fortunately there are a plethora of interesting races before the feature event, starting with the two Blue Diamond Preludes as race 2 and 3.

The fillies Prelude is run first and is classed as a Group 2, whereas the colts version is Group 3, even though the prize money and distance (1100 metres) is identical.

A great field of 13 fillies have accepted for the girls race, headed by the more experienced Oohood and Crossing The Abbey who ran second and third to Lady Horseowner in the Blue Diamond Preview. Other top chances on form are Al Naifa, Pure Elation and Downloads, the latter two also contesting the BD Preview.  I’m interested in seeing Angel, the half sister to 2013 Blue Diamond Stakes winner Miracles of Life, who won her only start in a maiden race in Geelong in early January. Can Angel emulate her big sister and  win in the Blue Diamond?

Fourteen colts will be contesting the boys Blue Diamond Prelude, the main chances being Ollivander and Run Naan along with Written By, Plague Stone and Native Soldier. Four in the field are having their first start, so who knows what chance they have.

Race 4 is the Carlyon Cup for middle distance/stayers run over 1600 metres. It’s not that interesting as races go, so I won’t preview it, however Race 5, the Kevin Hayes Stakes sees the return of smart fillies Shoals and Tulip to the track. Shoals won the Group 1 Myer Classic at Flemington  at her last start in Spring last year so is the class filly in the field.

The Group 2 Rubiton Stakes, a sprint over 1100 metres, has a top field and remarkably the barrier draw matched each horse’s saddlecloth number – a rarity. Whether the  field will finish in that order remains to be seen.

Horse number 1 is Rich Charm who has an excellent chance of winning, having been successful at Caulfield on three previous occasions, the most recently on Caulfield Cup day where he won a Listed sprint.

He will however have to beat classy colt Merchant Navy who won the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at his last start.  Others with a chance are Super Cash, Prezado and mystery New Zealand colt Ardrossan, now with the Mick Price stable,  having his first start in Australia.

The Orr Stakes is worth the wait having attracted a really interesting field with six Group 1 winners out of thirteen runners.  One of the main chances is Hartnell, cursed during the Spring racing carnival, winning only one race. At his best he’s too good to overlook. Then there’s Tosen Stardom, the former Japanese galloper who won the Group 1 Toorak Handicap and Emirates Stakes in Spring and the other Japanese horse Brave Smash who ran third in The Everest. 

Several mares have won the Orr Stakes in recent times, Suavito in 2016 and Black Caviar in 2012, and any of the four mares in the field could be a serious contender, particulary Single Gaze who always runs an honest race and Shillelagh who won the Cantala Stakes in Spring.

The last three year old to win the race was Black Caviar’s little brother All Too Hard in 2013. Whether Caulfield Guineas winner Mighty Boss can repeat this feat is doubtful, but his weight advantage could be useful.

In Winx news, she will now kick off her autumn in the Chipping Norton Stakes on 3 March, due to a careless riding suspension incurred by her regular jockey  Hugh Bowman that prevented him riding the champion mare in the Apollo Stakes on 17 February. For one dizzying moment there was talk of running Winx in the Futurity Stakes at Caulfield on Blue Diamond Stakes Day, but alas for us Melbourne fans, the Chipping Norton option was decided upon.

And it was pleasing to read that Gingernuts, who sustained a serious injury on Emirates Stakes Day last year, has now returned to New Zealand in good condition, where, even if he never races again, he will  be cherished to the end of his days.

Melbourne Spring Racing Finale–Emirates Stakes Day Review

Emirates Stakes finish – Damian Lane celebrates Tosen Stardom’s win

For a change, the weather in Melbourne last Saturday was more Summer than capricious Spring, with blue skies and sunshine the whole day – hot in fact.

Arriving at Flemington around 1.45pm I headed directly to the stalls area to get some photos of the leading runners in the two Group 1 events.

The first horse I came across was none other than old Living Legend Might and Power, having a day out at the races. A crowd of admirers surrounded him outside his  stall, feeding him carroty treats and giving him a pat.

He seemed to be enjoying himself enormously, and looked remarkably well for his age. He’s now 24 years old.

Might and Power

Also present was the grey flash Chautauqua…

Chautauqua in his stall

and his great rival Terravista.

Terravista

New sprinters on the block, Everest winner Redzel, as well as Redkirk Warrior and Impending were also out and about

Redzel

Redkirk Warrior

The handsome Impending

Considering the drama that occurred when the field for the feature Emirates Stakes was headiing out to the starting gates, with Gingernuts unfortunately suffering an injury in transit, I’m glad I got a nice photo of him in the stalls area early in the afternoon. He reportedly suffered a pastern fracture, which his jockey Michael Dee felt as it happened. He pulled Gingernuts up and dismounted instantly. The injury is not considered life threatening, but Gingernuts will be out of action for a very long time.

Gingernuts

The crowds were not half as bad as Derby Day, so it wasn’t all that tedious to walk to the access gate east of the winning post – the favourite spot for Rebecca & I to snap photos.

From there we watched race 5, the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, a consolation prize for stayers who missed running in the Melbourne Cup.  It had a good field  that included 2016 Geelong Cup  & 2017 Bendigo Cup winner Qewy and Vengeur Masque who won the 2017 Geelong Cup and finished a close second to Cismontane in the Lexus Stakes.

After winning $100.00 on Vengeur Masque in the Geelong Cup, he’s now promoted to a personal favourite, so I was pleased that he proved his credentials as a fine stayer in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, leading from the start ot the finish. Grey Lion challenged in the straight, but Vengeur Masque stuck to his guns and prevailed by ¾ lengths. Wheal Leisure finished third.

First time past the post in the QE Stakes – Vengeur Masque leads with Grey Lion tailing him

QE Stakes finish – Vengeur Masque wins from Grey Lion

Qewy started as favourite but finished sixth. He has since been retired.

Vengeur Masque returns to scale

Grey Lion

Qewy returns to scale

First Lady of Racing, Gai Waterhouse had a wonderful Melbourne Spring Carnival, training five Group winners, Pinot in the Group 1 Oaks being her top result. So it looks as if we shall have to take Gai’s runners seriously again.

Savapinkski enhanced Gai’s reputation by winning the Group 2 Matriarch Stakes, race 6 on the program on Saturday, leading all the way in 2000 metre race to win by almost three lengths from Payroll with Token of Love running third another length behind.

Savapinski wins the Matriarch Stakes

Savapinski on her way to the barriers

Payroll returns to scale

Token of Love on her way to the barriers

It was too hot to stay on the public lawn between races, and it got boring watching the Winning Post patrons on the opposite side of the track, to and froing from one side of the track to the other, so Bec and I headed for one of the scarce shaded areas behind us. I’d never been to the Boags Deck, so we decided to investigate. There were a couple of guys providing musical entertainment up there and a shaded area, so we lingered there until it was time for the first of the Group 1 events.

Musicians

As the horses paraded in the mounting yard prior to the running of the Darley Classic sprint, the official photographers clustered in front of us to get a good vantage point for horses running along the outside rail. Flemington sprints are problematical for photographers due to the tendency of the field to split into two sections, one lot on the inside rail and the rest on the grandstand side.

Along with the photographers on the rail, the security guards also plonked themselves in such a way as to block the view of the finish.

So it’s no wonder that my photos of the Darley Classic finish are pathetic, and don’t picture the winner Redzel, who raced along the outer rail. Terravista ran second and Impending was third. Chautauqua ended up running fourth.

Darley Classic finish

Redzel returns to scale

Terravista returns to scale

Impending returns to scale

It was getting on to 5.00 pm when the feature Group 1 Emirates Stakes was run. The pesky security guys were again blocking the view…

So Si Bon in the background & security guy

But by shooting between the gaps I managed to get photos of the main contenders, including Gingernuts before his unfortunate break down.

Gingernuts on his way to the barriers, shortly before his injury

Gingernuts breaks down – Clerks of Course attend the stricken horse

On course Vet bandages Gingernuts leg

It’s very fortunate that jockey Michael Dee realised that something was wrong, and that the injury happened before the race start and not during the race. Gingernuts was eventually led into a veterinary ambulance and taken off to horse hospital at Werribee.  The latest on his condition has him recovering well from surgery to have screws inserted in the fractured area.

This incident delayed the start of the Emirates Stakes by 10 minutes, but eventually they were off and running.

Gailo Chop lead the field for most of the race with Cliff’s Edge and Folkswood on the pace as well, but as the field turned for home it was anyone’s guess who the winner would be. Tosen Stardom was blocked for a run, but found a gap close to finish line and stormed to victory, winning by 1½ lengths from Happy Clapper, also swooping from the back of the field, with It’s Somewhat running third.

Tosen Stardom on his way to the barriers

Happy Clapper on his way to the barriers

It’s Somewhat on his way to the barriers

And so ended the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival for this year.

Overall the racing action has been quite interesting this year as compared to last year, even though there were many long odds winners upsetting the favourites.

Highlights of the season:

Winx  - in every one of her starts this Spring she has been astounding and kept her winning sequence intact through thick and thin,  and has now at 22 straight wins and is drawing closer to Black Caviar’s record of 25. She also created history by matching Kingston Town’s Cox Plate Treble and I’m glad I was there to witness it.

Bonneval – looked to be a potential star of the spring in her first two runs in Melbourne, winning the Group 2  Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes and  Group 1 Underwood Stakes, the first mare to win either of these races in many years. Unfortunately she fell under an injury cloud before the Caulfield Cup, which probably accounts for her poor performance in that race.

Ace High – a promising young stayer who took home two Group 1 trophys this season, the Spring Champion Stakes and Victoria Derby.

Rekindling – although I thought the Melbourne Cup field was boring, I was very pleased that Rekindling won the race. Technically only three years of age, he became the first 3yo to win the big race since Skipton in 1941.

Disappointments:

Royal Symphony – a beautiful looking colt, Royal Symphony started his Spring campaign early in July winning his first four starts. Bad luck dogged him thereafter and he ran fourth in his other three starts in the Spring, the last being the Cox Plate, where he had a torrid run monstered by Happy Clapper all the way.

Russian Revolution – looked as if he would be a force to be reckoned with in his first race this spring where he impressively won the Group 2 McEwen Stakes at Moonee Valley, then failed to place in the Group 1 Moir Stakes, whereupon he was sent for spell.

Chautauqua – competed in four races this Spring, but failed to place in any of them. Is he a spent force?

I hardly had a bet this Spring,  and except for Caulfield Cup day where I had my money on Bonneval and Jon Snow, my other two wagers were very successful and my Sportsbet Account ended up with more funds than it started with.