KEANO THE PICK BUT THERE ARE DEFINITE DANGERS

By Graham Potter | Friday, June 19, 2009

The manner in which Keano demolished his opposition in the Lightning Handicap at Eagle Farm two weeks ago marks him as the runner to beat in the Group 3, W J Healy Stakes at Eagle Farm tomorrow.

It is well worth repeating what trainer Danny O’Brien said about the colt after its last win as it highlights the extremely high opinion that the trainer has of this horse.

Speaking to HRO at the time, O’Brien stated the following: “I honestly thought he would have won the Stradbroke if he’d had the right prep and that and got into the race, you know. He would have picked it up. He’s a very, very good horse. That’s his first look at the wet track and he got through it alright. He’s a good horse. He’s only had eight starts. He’ll get his day. We’ll get our chance to win at Group 1 level, but we’ll have to wait till he’s four now. I think maybe a 1200m race will suit him at this stage. He’ll run here in a fortnight on Tatts Cup day in the 1200m Group 3 race. Then we’ll take him back to Melbourne for the Spring.”

That 1200m test has arrived and Damien Oliver takes the ride. All of the hype is there for Keano, but there are definite dangers to the main fancy.

Going down the card, three runners - Wasted Emotions, News Alert and Maxisun - are standouts in that category. Two of them have form around the boom filly Ortensia, who is a strong hope in the Group 1 race on the card, to validate their claims.

Wasted Emotions was just found out over the 1300m last time in the QTC Cup. The Danny Williams trained gelding finished 2.60 lengths behind Ortensia on that occasion, a major point being that he carried 1.5kg more than the filly. That translates into a very competitive effort. Now, back over 1200m, Wasted Emotions will have every chance. He has won five out of six starts over this trip and he finished second on the other occasion. Clearly, he would not be winning out of turn, but he has plenty to do at the weights - particularly when rated alongside Maxisun.

The Tony Vasil trained Maxisun nearly upstaged Ortensia in that QTC Cup. He flashed up late to get oh so close to downing the filly at level weights, but the line came just in time to save the Tony Noonan trained runner. Maxisun beat Wasted Emotions home by 2.50 there when receiving 1.5kg from the Williams trained runner. Maxisun is now a full, further 2.5kg better off with Wasted Emotions this time around which should help him rubber stamp his authority over that rival. The fact that Maxisun is also unbeaten in two goes over 1200m further emphasises his claims.

News Alert turned around a frustrating sequence of runner-up finishes when winning in his first start for trainer Con Karakatsanis in the Listed Chief De Beers over 1100m at Doomben two runs back. He faltered at the start in his subsequent run and then did not have the most comfortable of passages when ending up a well beaten favourite in the Lightning Stakes behind Keano. The draw does him no favours here, but he has proved to be game and honest enough to a degree where his chances can seldom be dismissed lightly.

Bocuse could prove to be best of the rest.

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