THE PETLEY REPORT: THE TALK IS ALMOST OVER AS THE EVEREST FIELD IS FINALISED. BRING ON THE ACTION
By Jack Petley | Tuesday, October 13, 2020
At last the $15 million Everest field has been completed Dollar for Dollar taking the place of the colt Farnan for Aquis and Chris Waller Racing making their call for stable sprinter Haut Brion Her with the champion NZ born trainer having two runners now, of course the other one being Nature Strip. Waller made his move on Haut Brion Her saying that her work in the past week or so has been excellent. "She is ready for a big effort,"said Waller.
I gather that Farnan had recovered from his setback and had been passed fit after the weekend, but the Bott-Waterhouse yard said the colt would travel to Melbourne where he would run next in the Gr1 Coolmore Stales against his own age. He sits at $7.50 for that event and is bound to tighten with the news that he is out of the Everest and heading south.
The McEvoy yard are delighted to have gained the nod for Dollar for Dollar, who was to have raced in a lesser event on the Randwick card. Dollar for Dollar, who has recent placings in the Gilgai and the Rupert Clarke Stakes in Melbourne, is a speed runner so that will mean he could well take on Nature Strip up front.
Latest market for the big one - 4.40 Classique Legend, 5.50 Gytrash, 6.50 Nature Strip, Libertini, 12 Behemoth, 13 Bivouac, 18 Eduardo, Tofane, 21 Santa Anna Lane, Trekking, Haut Brion Her, Dollar for Dollar.
I note that pre post betting for the Everest has been so much greater than last year and there will be 11,000 fans on track this weekend and it should be one cracker of a day.
The Busuttin-Young yard have announced that smart three-year-old Tagaloa will head to the spelling paddock after his ordinary effort in the Caulfield Guineas when he was ever so far behind the winner Ole Kirk. He ended up with a slight leg injury so he will spell and return for the autumn majors said Trent Busuttin. The colt is part owned by Yulong so his future may well be at stud being already a Gr1 winner of the Blue Diamond.
For the Caulfield Cup the Aidan O'Brien stayer Anthony Van Dykie shares favouritism with the NZ bred Zed mare Verry Elleegant at $5 for the Cup with Hugh Bowman to ride the raider and then having to sit out a 10 day suspension.
Latest market - 5 Anthony Van Dyke, Verry Elleegant, 11 Finche, Master of Wine, 15 Buckhurst, 17 Dalasan, Mugatoo, Toffer Tongue, Warning, 21 Chapada, Dashing Willoughby.
Danny O'Brien pulled Orderofthegarter out of the Cup after his poor run on the weekend and he has been sent to the paddock for a short spell. But O'Brien still has a chance in the Cup with the Melbourne Cup winner of last year, Vow and Declare, who will be ridden by Damien Oliver, winner of five Cups, the last on NZ bred Sky Heights.
While on O'Brien I see that he was more than happy with the run from Russian Camelot even though beaten by Arcadia Queen last weekend. He was quoted in the media as saying: "He pulled up well. He will be in the Cox Plate in two weeks time and he will be right at his peak."
Tye McNeil had been booked for the Cup mount on Orderofthegarter, but he has now been snared by Mike Moroney for his Herbert Power winner, Chapada with McNeil having to work hard this week to get down to the book weight of 51kgs.
Kiwi stayer The Chosen One sits at $51 in the Cup betting and also at good odds, the Busuttin-Young stayer Mirage Dancer, a tough winner over Mugatoo in the Metropolitan Handicap in Sydney last time out with Tren Busuttin saying his stayer "has never been fitter."
Kiwi born Michael Walker won a Gr1 event on the weekend on the very smart filly Odeum in the One Thousand Guineas and he is hopeful of gaining another Gr1 this weekend on the now Sir Own Glen owned, Andrew Balding trained, Dashing Willoughby with Walker taking the mount on the stayer ahead of his regular ride in the past three Cups, Prince of Arran (Jamie Kah). From all reports Walker has been taken by the quality of the UK stayer.
Anders runs in the Blue Sapphire tomorrow and he meets a very small field including Hanseatic and Ranting and has opened at very short odds on the strength of his last start win in the San Domenico in Sydney.
The Coongy Cup has drawn a field of nine and includes Cape of Good Hope (William Pike), Captain Cook for Chris Waller (Hugh Bowman) and the Maher-Eustace stayer, Al Galayel (Ben Melham).
Enabled, one of the finest mares to race in Europe, has run her last race. Prince Khalid Abdullah announced this earlier in the week. The mare has just recently failed in the Arc , finishing 6th, and there was talk she may run this weekend in the Champions Day at Ascot, but the plug has been pulled on her 19 race career which heralded 15 wins, 11 at Group 1 level and a massive 10.7million pounds in stakes. She will now retire to Juddmonte and be in the court of the top stallion Kingman.
"Her daily presence at the stable has been a great joy,"said Enabled’s trainer John Gosden. "Her record in Group Ones including four Oaks, three King Georges, two Arcs, an Eclipse and Breeders Turf is a marvel and unprecedented."
And there is also another retirement looming on the UK scene, I note that John Oxx, the trainer of many a high-class galloper including the brilliant Sea the Stars said he would retire at the end of the season. He had many a top horses through his yard including Sinndar (Derby, Irish Detby, and Arc), Ridgewood Pearl (Breeders Cup), Enzeli (Ascot Gold Cup) but with the Galileo colt perhaps the best with six Group 1’sin the space of six months, the 2000 Guineas, Derby, Eclipse, Juddmonte International, Irish Champion and Arc.
Hong Kong have announced their stakes for the International meeting in December, the HK28m Hong Kong Cup, the HK25m HK Mile, the HK22m HK Sprint and the HK20m Vase with entries to close on October 26.
And what about this pool … the Hong Kong Jockey will simulcast a total of nine races for fans to bet on on Caulfield Cup Day and also on the British Champions Day. And on the Sunday the major race meeting in Japan, headed by the Gr1 Shuka Sho will also be simulcast into Hong Kong with their meeting being at Sha Tin, to my thinking international pools the way of the future.
Otaki trainer Howie Matthews and his wife Lorraine took great pleasure in that win by veteran stayer Sampson at the Hawera meeting on the weekend. The 11 year-old carried a massive 60.5kgs and he gave weight and age to all his rivals. "What can I say," asked Matthews of the media after the narrow win over Hi I'm Nikkita. "He may be 11 but he doesn't show it. He just wanted to win."
Sampson is the oldest horses Matthews has kept in training. "I had Doyle, who won 12 and retired at nine and Coshking, who won nine and retired at eight. This lad has certainly outlasted them."
In NZ the Livamol is run this weekend at Hastings and the powerful Te Akau stable dominates the early betting with Melody belle sitting at $2.50 and then stablemate Avantage at $4, then 5 Two Illicit, 11 Prise de Fer, Supera, Tiptronic.
The top staying mare Glory Days will likely run in the Livamol Classic this weekend after she had been retired after finishing out of the placings in the St Leger at Trentham last March. A potential sale evidently fell through and so she is back racing and she turned in a solid fourth at Te Rapa recently under 61kgs." While in the north she was covered by Ten Sovereigns at Valaichi Downs and trainer, Bill Thorlow, said he was waiting for the test results.
A report in the NZ Racing Desk notes that Rosie Myers was injured in a trial when she was dislodged when her mount veered sideways after the finish line. A rival runner, said the NZ Racing Desk , then made contact with her head. She remains in a coma, but in a stable condition with a small brain bleed and a facial fracture. We all wish Rosie a full and speedy recovery.
The much travelled Not An Option came back to his best form with that win at Matamata on the weekend for Tony Pike. It was his first start since his three-race campaign in Australia where he had little luck. "He copped a bad check in the Champagne Stakes (Sydney) and nearly went over the running rail in Brisbane" said Pike. The smart young galloper has now been set at $4.50 for the 2000 Guineas at Riccarton alongside the Hawkes Bay Guineas winner, the Baker-Forsman trained Aegon.
Also, back in form was Summer Passage for the O'Sullivan-Scott yard. "We are chuffed. It is just fantastic to have him back in winning form," said Lance O'Sullivan. After solid form in NZ the young galloper was sent into Sydney and ran 2nd to Invader in the Sires Produce at Randwick. After four starts there he was sent to Hong Kong but found hard tracks against him. He returned to NZ and to stud at Mapperley but was found to be infertile so was gelded and placed back into work. He will now be set major sprints.
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