A Weir Quinella–Makybe Diva Stakes Review

Palentino beats stablemate Black Heart Bart to win the 2016 Makybe Diva Stakes

The Darren Weir machine rolls on with remarkable success,  the Ballarat based trainer scoring his second Group 1 win for the season.

No other Victorian trainer gets a look in when it comes to the major races these days, though that may change as the spring racing carnival progresses and the Sydney stars come to Melbourne to challenge for the riches on offer.

My afternoon at Flemington began early where I got to the course in time to watch race 2, the Cap D’Antibes Stakes, a Listed race for three year old fillies run over 1100 metres.

Down the straight in the Cap D’Antibes Stakes – eventual winner Kentucky Miss is on the far left of the picture

The trouble with taking photos of sprints down the Flemington straight is that the field generally splits into two sections, one moving to the grandstand side, the other staying on the inside or in the middle. It’s hit or miss, depending on which side you are focussing on, whether you will get a photo of the winner crossing the line.

Such was the case in the Cap D’Antibes Stakes where the winner, Kentucky Miss came down the grandstand rail and I was concentrating on the inside rail.  So I got a nice shot of fourth placed Super Too and missed the winner and runners up, Beyond The Dream and My Country who  ran down the middle of the track.

Kentucky Miss returns to scale

Race 3, the Starlight Express Room Stakes was a 1400 metre race for three year olds and less complicating to photograph, the runners sticking to the inside of the track.

Approaching the finish line in race 3 – Detective (dark green silks) has the edge over Tessera (blue silks & blinkers) and Throssel (blue & white silks)

Detective returns to scale

In between the races, as usual, I tramped back to the stalls, about six times in all, so I got plenty of exercise over the afternoon.

The Living Legends special guest was Paris Lane who was being polished up in his stall, preparatory to parading in the mounting yard.

Paris Lane in his stall having his hooves polished

To refresh your memory, Paris Lane won the 1994 Caulfield Cup and MacKinnon Stakes, and ran second in the Melbourne Cup. He’s now 26 years old, looking pretty spry none the less.

It was a bit early in the day at this time (1.3opm) for the Makybe Diva Stakes field to have arrived, but  I pleased to see New Zealand colt Saracino in his stall. He was entered in Race 5, the Danehill Stakes, scheduled to run at  2.50pm.

Saracino

Alpine Eagle had arrived early, and was in the stall next to Saracino.

Alpine Eagle

Back trackside, it was pleasing to see Bon Aurum take out race 4, The Sofitel (aka Tontonan Stakes), a Listed race over 1400 metres. I’ve been following Bon Aurum for awhile, and he hadn’t won a race since winning the Guineas Prelude in late September last year.

Bon Aurum wins The Sofitel from Ulmann & Hi World

Bon Aurum rugged in the mounting yard posing for photos

Ulmann on his way to the barriers

Hi World on his way to the barriers

The first of the Group races was next on the program. This was the Group 2 Danehill Stakes for three year olds over 1200 metres.

I keen to see how Saracino would go in this and he exceeded expectations leading the field from start to finish, scoring by a narrow margin from Archives and Samara Dancer.

 
Down the straight in the Danehill Stakes – Saracino (yellow & green stripes) just ahead of Archives (blue silks) with Samara Dancer (blinkers) behind him.

Saracino returns to scale

Archives returns to scale

Back in the stalls area, most of the Makybe Diva field had arrived, so I cruised through to get snaps.

The Weir mob were in neighbouring stalls…

Palentino

Black Heart Bart

Prince of Penzance

Nearby were Happy Trails and Rising Romance…

Happy Trails

Rising Romance

It was certainly a case of handsome is as handsome does in the Group 2 Bobbie Lewis Quality, race 6 on the program. 

New Zealand stallion Xtravagant is a stunner to look at, but he disappointed, finishing last. His jockey Damian Oliver stated that the horse raced on his wrong leg, and refused to respond to any urgings to race on the right leg. Perhaps he needs to corner as he obviously doesn’t like the long Flemington straight, or maybe his mind is on other things judging by his tumescent state when leaving the mounting yard.

I photographed the contenders in the mounting yard and leaving for the track.

Under the Louvre

Xtravagant

Durendal

Tivaci

Faatinah

We’ve Got This

The race was won by Faatinah from Tivaci and We’ve Got This. Can’t say I’ve ever heard of Faatinah before, but he’s done most of his racing in Adelaide.

Down the straight in the Bobbie Lewis Quality

Faatinah returns to scale

The excitement was building for the next race which of course was the feature Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes.

As it was a pretty even field it was hard to single out a winner, other than Black Heart Bart who started as the warm favourite, despite there being a question mark over his ability to win over a mile.

It ended up with Palentino and Black Heart Bart fighting out the finish down the straight, the stablemates winning the quinella, Palentino scoring by a length from Black Heart Bart with He Or She three lengths behind in third place.

I got some nice photos of the field in the mounting yard and going to the barriers…

Prince of Penzance

Happy Trails

Black Heart Bart

Alpine Eagle

Palentino

Rising Romance

Tarzino

Maykybe Diva Stakes finish – Mark Zahra celebrates Palentino’s win

Palentino returns to the mounting yard

Alpine Eagle was again disappointing, finishing at the tail of the field. Like Xtravagant, perhaps his mind is on other things. Rising Romance raced on the pace, but faded to finish seventh.

As I’d been at the track since 12.45pm  I decided to head home after the feature race. I didn’t have any bets on the day, and having hardly sat down all afternoon, I was somewhat tired.

The afternoon was mostly overcast with the sun rarely showing its face, but the time as usual passed really fast. And I seem to have solved the Nikon’s light problem, the exposure compensation settings doing the trick. Despite the overcast day, I didn’t get any dark photographs.

Next week the only Group 1 race is in Sydney at Randwick where the feature race is the George Main Stakes which is now strangely called the Colgate Optic White Stakes. Anyway, Winx will be making her second appearance for the spring in this race and so far only six other competitors have nominated, which makes it look like a walkover for the wonder mare of Australia.

The racing in Melbourne will be at Caulfield and the feature race is the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes, a race over 2000 metres for Caulfield Cup bound horses.

And finally…

The news today was of the death of 1991 Melbourne Cup winner Let’s Elope. She apparently passed away in her sleep during the night. She was 29 years old.

As well as the Melbourne Cup, Let’s Elope won the 1991 Caulfield Cup and MacKinnon Stakes and in 1992 won the Turnbull Stakes, Australian Cup, Orr Stakes and St George Stakes.

She was a great race mare and I was pleased to see her grand-daughter Let’s Make Adeal win The Bart Cummings last year at Flemington in early October.

Sign at Flemington – Turnbull Stakes Day 2015

Makybe Diva Stakes–Is a Spring Romance on the Cards?

Rising Romance on her way to the barriers in the Memsie Stakes

The wide open spaces of Flemington beckon this coming Saturday with a super race meeting making the trip out west worth the effort.

The feature race is the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes, where a field of 13 runners will be contesting it.  Black Heart Bart is the hot favourite. It’s understandable considering he won Memsie Stakes in fine fashion at his first start for the season.  However, there are a few questionmarks as to whether he can win. He has never won over 1600 metres, and his recent form shows him running first, then second, then first, second, etc, though in his younger days in Western Australia he strung together several consecutive wins.

Happy Trails, now nine years old, is resuming for another spring season, his sixth in succession. I feel that he is probably past his glory days  where from 2012 to 2014 he won a Group 1 race each year – the Emirates Stakes in 2012, the Turnbull in 2013 and the Mackinnon in 2014. He’s grand old trouper who seems to have been around forever.

When I saw Rising Romance at Caulfield on Memsie Stakes Day I thought she looked a picture of health, so it was not surprising that she ran second in the race. Can she go one better in the Makybe Diva Stakes?  She’s due for a win having run against quality fields most of her career and finished second or third in several Group 1 races.

The handsome Alpine Eagle is also entered in the Makybe Diva Stakes. It would be good to see an improvement from him after his rather disappointing sixth in the Memsie Stakes, but he is bred to be a stayer and may have found the pace too hot.

Also worth considering are Australian Guineas winner Palentino and Derby winner Tarzino. Stayers often win the Makybe Diva Stakes, for instance Fawkner last year.

Due to the train timetable, I’ll be obliged to get to Flemington fairly early in the afternoon, so it’s fortunate that the support card has several other interesting races to keep me amused.

The Group 2 Danehill Stakes is scheduled as race 5 and is for three year olds and run over 1200 metres. I’m keen to get a look at New Zealand trainer Murray Baker’s new star Saracino having his first race in Australia. He’s up against smart local colts like Defcon, who recently won the HDF MCNeil Stakes, the  runners up Highland Beat and Wazzenme, Trenchant who has won at Flemington previously, and sole filly Samara Dancer.

We last saw New Zealand bred Xtravagant race in Australia in this  year’s Australian Guineas, where he started as hot favourite and failed to run a place. He’ll be out to redeem his reputation in the Bobbie Lewis Quality a sprint over 1200 metres. His greatest rival is Stradbroke Handicap winner Under The Louvre who always runs an honest race. This race was won by Chautauqua in 2014, which was when he first came to notice, and we all know how good has become since then.

In Sydney at Rosehill the feature race is the Golden Rose Stakes. It has a great field comprised of 12 colts/geldings and 3 fillies.

Of the boys, the top picks are Astern and Divine Prophet who both won their last starts, followed by Winx younger half brother El Divino, who was rather disappointing in the Run To The Rose and Melbourne colt Derryn who ran second to Divine Prophet at his last start.

Both Omei Sword and Yankee Rose are highly regarded fillies, the former being in the almighty Chris Waller stable, winning her last start by three and half lengths, the latter winning against the boys in autumn in the Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes and also running second in the Golden Slipper Stakes. If Yankee Rose has recovered from the minor injury she sustained recently, she is a force to be reckoned with and is one of the horses I’ve been looking forward to seeing this spring if she ever makes it to Melbourne.

Though the weather in Melbourne has been warm and sunny most of this week, a change on Friday is forecast to bring some rain, though it is expected to clear briefly on Saturday in time for the races.

Rosehill, for a change, may even present as good, with not much rain falling in Sydney before the weekend.

Awesome Vindication–Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes Review

Awesome Rock wins the 2016 Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes

Back in March at Flemington on Australian Cup Day, Awesome Rock technically won the feature event, but  lost out to Preferment on protest.

On Saturday at Moonee Valley he was vindicated, thrashing a classy field to take out the Group 2 Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes, which also gives him automatic entry into the Cox Plate.

More on that later…

It was a long afternoon at The Valley as I arrived at the course shortly after the running of the second race on the program at around 1.00pm.

However, the four hours I spent at the track flashed by remarkably quickly.

In Race 3, the Moonee Valley Handicap, a race for three year olds over 1514 metres,  I was interested in a young fellow called Rocketeer and even contemplated putting money on him.

As I was watching the runners parading in the parade ring, Hey Doc caught my eye as a stunning looking animal, and on looks, the pick of the yard.

Hey Doc in the parade ring

So, as I was heading for the front lawn, I was torn on who to back in the race. I ended up taking a few dollars each way on both Hey Doc and Rocketeer.

Superior in looks and superior in ability Hey Doc, racing wide for most of the trip and with a weight impost,  won convincingly by over a length from Rocketeer. Race leader, the Gai Waterhouse trained Lord Macau held on for third.

That was my only bet for the day as I felt no such certainty on any of the other runners in the next five races.

Hey Doc sweeps to the front in the straight, Rocketeer in hot pursuit.

Hey Doc returns to scale

Rocketeer on his way to the barriers

Lord Macau on his way to the barriers

Despite Moonee Valley Racing Club offering footy fans free entry to the course, as there was no football (Aussie Rules) played on Saturday, not many took up the offer.  There was only a small crowd present, so it was easy to get good spots to take photos.

For race 3 I was on the fence on the Public Lawn, but felt uneasy about the Nikon’s ability to handle different light conditions, so photographed the rest of the action from around the front of the stalls area.

Actually, I finally solved the lighting problem by adjusting the exposure compensation as the afternoon  progressed and the shadow of the Grandstand lengthened over the course.

The next race on the program was the boringly named United Refrigeration Handicap, also run over 1514 metres for all comers.

It resulted in a narrow win for Vostok over Mr Individual with Moss ‘N’ Dale running third.

Vostok (checked silks) fights out the finish with Mr Individual

Vostok on his way to the barriers

Mr Individual on his way to the barriers

Moss ‘N’ Dale on his way to the barriers

In between the races I cruised through the stalls area to get snaps of the major contenders in their stalls.

Also, old Fields of Omagh was on track as a special guest. I managed to give him a pat.

Fields of Omagh posing for photos

The Darren Weir contingent took up twenty stalls and included several Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes entries.

Tosen Stardom (look at his long neck – handy at the end of a close race I imagine)

Signoff

Mahuta yawning

Also in her stall was Piccadillies, the half sister to Fastnet Rock, who sired Awesome Rock.

The pretty Piccadillies in her stall

The action started to get interesting with Race 5, the McEwen Stakes, a Group 2 sprint over 1000 metres.

Heatherly was the short priced favourite, but she bombed the start and did well to run a close third to Wild Rain who led throughout to beat Furnaces and Heatherly.

Heatherly in the parade ring

Furnaces in the parade ring

Wild Rain in the parade ring

Wild Rain has a good lead up the straight with Furnaces (blue silks) and Heatherly chasing.

The Atlantic Jewel Stakes featured a field of Guineas bound fillies.

There was a lot of interest in the Western Australian filly Whispering Brook who had won all five of her previous starts in her home State. She had drawn a wide gate, so was at a disadvantage from the start. She narrowly lost to Denman filly Merriest so was hardly disgraced in her run. Sweet Sherry ran third.

Merriest (cerise silks) and Whispering Brook head to head down the straight

Merriest returns to scale

Whispering Brook returns to scale

Sweet Sherry on her way to the barriers

Piccadillies (7th place) returns to scale

There was only one more race before the feature to be run. This was the SAJ Fruit Supply Stakes, a sprint over 1200 metres.

Voodoo Lad was the warm favourite and didn’t let his fans down with a gritty win, coming wide from the tail of the field to win by a length from  Keen Array and Sebring Sun.

Voodoo Lad (red & yellow silks) hits the front in the SAJ Fruit Supply Stakes

Voodoo Lad returns to scale

Keen Array on his way to the barriers

Sebring Sun returns to scale

The United States started as favourite for the Group 2 Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes, but ended up unplaced.

I failed to mention any of the placegetters (Awesome Rock, Real Love and Set Square) in my preview of the race in my last post. They all came in at big odds, the trifecta paying a fortune (over $33, 000).

I caught the field parading in the ring before the race…

Tosen Stardom

The United States

The Cleaner

Jacquinot Bay

Mahuta

Real Love

Tavago

Set Square

And also got photos of the field on their way to the barriers…

Awesome Rock

Jameka

Suavito

Miss Rose De Lago

It was a messily run race, with The Cleaner, the natural leader drawing wide, taking some time to get the leading position.  The rest of the field jostled for position and the winner Awesome Rock caused interference to several runners in his dash to the front. 

Staying mares Real Love and Set Square took out the minor places. Tosen Stardom ran fourth and The Cleaner hung on for fifth.

Down the straight in the Dato Tan – Awesome Rock is passing The Cleaner with Real Love (pink silks) & Set Square (green silks) following close behind.

I didn’t stay for the last race,  heading for the bus stop after the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes, a tad tired after a long afternoon on my feet at The Valley, where I hardly sat down at all. Good exercise anyway.

In Sydney, the Chelmsford Stakes was won by Hartnell by 7 lengths from stayers Grand Marshall and Storm The Stars. You can tell Winx was scratched from the race, as the result may have been quite different had she been there. She beat Hartnell by three lengths in the Warwick Stakes recently.

Next Saturday there are two Group 1 races, the Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington and the Golden Rose at Rosehill.

The racing action is heating up as is the spring weather in Melbourne.

Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes Day–Then & Now

Down the straight in the 2006 Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes

There is no Group 1 action this week on the racetrack, but racing fans are more than compensated by the Group 2 program at Moonee Valley, which features the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes, a race over 1600 metres.

I’ve been attending this race meeting for over 10 years, so thought to illustrate this post with an historical photo, snapped in September 2006.

It shows Apache Cat leading a field of seven runners down the straight. Two time Cox Plate winner, Fields of Omagh, can be seen in the blue and gold silks running second last and the eventual winner of this particular version of the Dato Tan, Lad of the Manor is seen in third place in the blue and green silks.  He had the distinction the previous year of beating the great Makybe Diva in the same race. Apache Cat ran second.

Both Fields of Omagh and Apache Cat are now popular residents at Living Legends. Fields of Omagh will be a special guest at Moonee Valley next Saturday.

Back in 2006, the feature race of the meeting was the Manikato Stakes, the first Group 1 race of the spring racing season.  It was won by super sprinting mare Miss Andretti.

Miss Andretti after winning the 2006 Manikato Stakes

She won 19 races in a career of 30 runs, five of them at Group 1 level that included the Newmarket Handicap, Lightning Stakes and the Darley Classic. She also won the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2007.

The Manikato Stakes is now run on the eve of the Cox Plate.

This year’s Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes has attracted a cracker field that includes several Group 1 winners. The Cleaner is not one of them, but has won this race the past two years. The last horse to win three years running was Shorengo (1968-1970) so it will be a big upset if The Cleaner wins, particularly as his recent form is well below his best and he has drawn an outside barrier.

The current favourite is Japanese horse Tosen Stardom who is now with Darren Weir.

I’m  keen to see Tavago, the New Zealand trained winner of the ATC Derby. He was scratched from the Memsie Stakes after pulling out a tooth, so it will be first time he has raced in Melbourne.

It’s a difficult race to find a winner with any number of chances. Mahuta who ran third in the Memsie Stakes last week has to be considered, as does Jameka who has returned in fine form, her fourth in the Lawrence Stakes being full of merit where she finished a little over a length from the winner. The United States is also highly fancied having won the Ranvet Stakes back in autumn and running second to Lucia Valentina in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

The support card at Moonee Valley is far more interesting than at Caulfield last week.

For a start there’s the Group 2 McEwen Stakes, a sprint over 1000 metres. Speedy mare Heatherly will no doubt start as favourite as she recently won at her last start on the track over the same distance. The mighty Chautauqua won this race last year, but there are no sprinters of his quality in the race.  Heatherly’s main rivals appear to be Reldas, O’Malley and fellow mares Alpha Miss, Chloe in Paris and Wild Rain.

The Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes has a great field of three year old fillies

Unbeaten Western Australian filly Whispering Brook, having her first start in the East is the most interesting of the runners. She’s up against smart Victorian fillies like Zamzam, Sweet Sherry and Gretna.  First starter Piccadillies is a half sister to great sire Fastnet Rock and has ignited keen interest after trialling well.

Up in Sydney the Randwick race meeting is expected to be run on a heavy track, yet again. The main attraction is Winx in the Group Two  Chelmsford Stakes.  If the track is too heavy she may be scratched, but if she races she will be gunning for her 11th win in succession.  Perish the thought that she could be beaten, but her main rivals in the field of eight are Hartnell and colt Prized Icon.

It has warmed up in Melbourne at last and Saturday is expected to be overcast and mild with morning showers.