THE PETLEY REPORT: HIGHLIGHTS GALORE AS THE WEEKEND RACING SCENE LIVED UP TO ITS HYPE
By Jack Petley | Monday, September 7, 2020
What a day of super racing in Australia on Saturday. The highlight winners for me, Humidor, Gytrash, Showmanship, Dame Giselle, and Mister Sea Wolf. And, of course, Chris Waller gaining his 3000th winner … and winners galore, to boot. Apart from Humidor the stable sent out two winners in Sydney, Jay Jay D'Ar and Mr Sea Wolf (the trifecta in that race) and winners also at Hawkesbury (Royal Marine), Maddi Rose (Doomben) and Bellarine (Gold Coast).
Waller, and I would say everyone in racing, paid tribute to fellow trainer Rick Worthington, who lost a long battle to cancer. Worthington was highly regarded by all, a board member of the NSW Trainers Association and also President of the Warwick Farm Trainers Association. He was a popular man and ever so widely respected amongst his peers.
What a win that was by Humidor, still part owned in New Zealand. He had been off form for some time and Waller was given the top galloper to train for one last roll of the dice. And what a roll! Humidor stormed through the inside late to grab a great victory in the Gr2 Feehan over another NZ bred galloper and Cups candidate Surprise Baby. Evidently Waller had tried to buy Humidor some time back but was beaten to the punch by Darren Weir. Now he is with the master NZ born trainer and heading towards the Cox Plate. Remember, he ran Winx ever so close in the 2017 event.
That was a tough win by Dreamforce in the Tramway Stakes on the weekend and he now heads to the George Main as John Thompson puts the finishing touches on him for the Epsom Handicap.
That was a cool ride by Kiwi Jason Collett on the flying machine from WA, Gytrash, in the Concorde. Collett did not become involved in a speed duel with Nature Strip early in the Concorde, but just sat behind and waited. Inside the last 150 metres he called upon his mount and Gytrash responded so, so stylishly and he went past Nature Strip in a flash but, for me, that run will improve Nature Strip ever so much. Gytrash is reportedly as bright as a button after his slashing win and it looks as though he may not race again until the $15 Everest in which he has firmed since that win for Jason Collett and Gordon Richards.
Showmanship, by Showcasing and sold by Haunui at Karaka for $145,000, took his record to seven wins from eight starts when in brilliant form for William Pike in the Bendigo Bank. Now, said his co-trainer, Grant Williams, he may step up in class to the Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield. He is one of six horses the Williams stable took into Melbourne for owner Bob Peters, but one, Regal Power has returned home with a lung infection. Peters is hopeful of earning an Everest spot.
Dame Giselle won her second race on end with victory in the Furious Stakes over the Waller filly Hungry Heart. Those two fillies were head and shoulders above the rest and they will clash further during the carnival.
Nash Rawiller was in fine form winning on Mr Sea Wolf in the Chelmsford Stakes and also taking out the Tramway on the John Thompson trained Dreamforce. The Chelmsford win for Waller was his sixth in the big race and he also provided second (Yulong Prince) and third (Finche) with that run by Finche having his odds cut for the Cups.
James McDonald had to wait till the last race, the Bisley Workwear to gain a winner, Cristal Breeze for Kris Lees and the so successful bloodstock syndicating company, Australian Bloodstock, who have brought so many winners from Europe into the Australian racing scene.
Just Thinking won the Farewell Subzero for the Bott-Waterhouse yard narrowly beating Bjorn Baker's Fun Fact and Absolute Trust took out the Highway for Tim McIntosh and Josh Parr.
Alligator Blood makes his return to racing this weekend over 1100 metres at Doomben as he builds to hopefully gaining a spot in the $15 Everest. Before that possible The Everest run, he will tackle the Golden Eagle.
Top Victorian jockey Dwayne Dunn luckily escaped serious injury at the Valley when his mount Shot of Air bounded causing Dunn to hit his head on the gates almost dislodging him. He is out of hospital with surgery not required to an injured vertebrae. Damien Oliver, I gather, also had problems in the last race and he struck his head on the stall upright and became unbalanced. His mount ran 10th.
WS Cox Plate at Moonee Valley this spring could be one heck of a day for Kiwis brothers Mark and John Carter and sister Rachael, who race horses under the banner of Jomara Bloodstock. On the weekend that wonderful galloper Humidor, who they still retain shares in, gained his place in the Cox Plate, after missing out last year, by taking the Feehan Stakes at the Valley with a breathtaking finish for new trainer Chris Waller. The trio were ever so upset when Humidor did not make last year's Cox Plate field. "It would be nice to go back and prove them wrong," said John Carter to the NZ Racing Desk.
The trio also share in the ownership of the outstanding NZ bred mare Verry Elleegant, who, while on a Cups trail could tackle the Cox Plate beforehand. "It would be something special to have two runners in the race," said John Carter. Verry Elleegant sits at $11 alongside Sir Dragonet in the Cox Plate early betting with the Danny O'Brien UK bred stayer Russian Camelot favourite at $9. Others: 13 Surprise Baby (super run in the Feehan), 15 Arcadia Queen, 21 Aspetar, Humidor, Avilius, Behemoth.
An investigation, I see, has been adjourned into the ride by Glen Boss on Icepath in the Bisley Handicap.
Some other stylish winners in Melbourne, Junipal in the Solutions Handicap for the Maher-Eustace yard and another winner for that powerful stable, Flash Flood … while that was handy win for the Price -Kent yard with Night Raid.
And what about that win by Bella Vella at the Valley. She was owned at one time by Sir Owen Glen, who had her sent to Criterion, but she failed to get in foal. She was placed for sale on-line, Will Clarken and some clients took her for $20,000 and she has now won over $750,000, and more to come I would say.
In NZ Te Akau had a field day in the majors at Te Rapa taking out the Foxbridge Plate with the high-class Avantage and the Northland Breeders Stakes with the brilliant Nay Nay Never colt, Need I say More. That win by Avantage took the daughter of Fastnet Rock and Asavant to 11 wins from 18 starts and $1.47m in stake-money with David Ellis paying $210,000 for her out of The Oaks draft at Karaka in 2017. The Northland Breeders Stakes winner Need I say More $130,000 at Karaka.
At Wanganui Only Words, a filly, gave trainer Clint Isdale his biggest winner of his fledgling career with victory in the Waganui Guineas.
There was much celebrating in NZ after the Bob Baffert trained Authenic scooted an all the way win in the Kentucky Derby. The Classic winner, by Mischief, is raced by SF Bloodstock which has sold shares in horses this past year or so and one owner celebrating was journalist Aidan Rodley, who with four school mates from Stratford High Shool are included in a group of 4200 that took up the opportunity to obtain a small share in the colt.
Racing got under way at Sha Tin for the new season and Joao Moreira made a stunning start to the season with a winning treble while Zac Purton, his arch-rival, gained a double as did trainers John Size and David Hayes. "I am happy to get on the board with three," said the brilliant Moreira. One of Purton's winners came on the Hayes-trained Metro Warrior.
Enable has come through that great win in the Unibet September Stakes on the weekend at Kempton in fine order said trainer John Gosden and now she is ready for that much awaited clash with the outstanding filly Love in the Arc, with Enable going for her third win in the big one. “That was mission completed," said Gosden.
Charlie Fellowes was happy with the third placing by stayer Prince of Arran in the September Stakes as he heads towards Australia and another crack at the Melbourne Cup. "That was perfect, spot on," said the trainer." He is quite fat at the moment and hasn't done a lot of hard work. He will have one run in Oz before the Cup."
Persian King, part owned by Godolphin and the Wildenstein family, scored a big win in the Prix du Moulin over the solid finishing Pinatubo.
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