MATT MOORE'S COMPREHENSIVE WEEKEND RECAP

By Matt Moore | Monday, April 12, 2021

WEEKEND RECAP:

As expected, Day 1 of The Championships at Randwick didn’t disappoint. A massive card of 10 races, four at Group 1 Level plus the Championship Country Final set the turf alight.

We also had black type racing for the second consecutive weekend at Caulfield, two Listed features at Morphettville as the SAJC get set for their Autumn Carnival in less than three weeks. The Group 2 W.A.T.C Derby at Ascot in the West. PLUS a monumental achievement at Newcastle and the highlights from the Sunshine State.

ROYAL RANDWICK:

What a day it was for jockey James McDonald as well as the James Cummings/Godolphin and Chris Waller camps ... and, of course, for the mighty Jamie Kah. JMac rode three winners with Cummings/Godolphin also taking out three races. Waller left the track with a training treble as well while Kah landed her first Group 1 in Sydney.

The day get off perfectly for the Blue Army as champion Victorian Jockey Damien Oliver got the job done with Paulele in the opening event, the Kindergarten Stakes over 1100m. Jumping from Gate 5, Olly got a beautiful sit just outside race leader Vandoula Lass before hitting the front at the 150m mark and powering through the line hard. The drop back from 1400m last start to 1100m here did the trick. Look for him to go to potentially 1200m for his next start based on this run.
Margin - 2.5L. Time - 1.05.42. Last 600m - 34.79.

Waller’s first winner was in Race 2, the Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes over the mile. He combined with Tommy Berry aboard the filly in Kiku. Jumping from the widest alley, Berry settled her toward the back of the field. She had all the work to do as they rounded for home, finding herself the widest runner. It was a perfectly timed run from Berry to beat home race favourite The Irishman. That’s now three consecutive wins for her. She’s a classy girl showing that can mix it with the best taking that big step from Benchmark grade to Group level.
Margin - 1L. Time - 1.37.89. Last 600m - 36.99.

Berry made it a race-to-race day when he took out the Country Championship Final over the 1400m aboard race favourite Art Cardeau. When the gates went back, Berry held his spot aboard the four-year-old gelding on the fence while allowing Bautista and Plonka on his outside to dictate the tempo. At the 600m, Berry pushed the favourite forward to now be in front and that’s where they stayed, holding Another One who finished off strongly for Nick Heywood.
Margin - 0.5L. Time 1.25.23. Last 600m 36.08.

McDonald’s first win came in the first of the Group 1’s – The Inglis Sires over the 1400m aboard the Godolphin runner Anamoe. He was the odds-on favourite after his fantastic run in the Golden Slipper and didn’t disappoint favourite backers. It was the most dominant win of the meeting with Anamoe displaying a devastating turn of foot at the 300m mark underlining why he went around at odds on.

Post-race Cummings said he was “incredibly proud” of Anamoe in the way that he has “absorbed the pressure” in the races he ran in … being the Blue Diamond, the Todman and the Golden Slipper which are no doubt the best two-year-old races around. Cummings also hinted the Caulfield Guineas in the spring could be a target for him. McDonald added that the colt is the “Rolls Royce” of two-year-olds.
Margin – 2.8L. Time – 1.24.69. Last 600m – 36.50.

The Australian Derby was the 2nd Group 1 on the card over the mile and a half and it was a bit of a blow out with the Maher/Eustace runner Explosive Jack taking it out with John Allen aboard. The Irish born jockey settled his ride second last but made a move at the 1200m that bought the pair into race. He sharply went up to sit three wide around midfield. It was a fantastic finish with the winner, Young Werther, Lion’s Roar and Khoekhoe going stride for stride with 100m to go. It was a photo finish with Explosive Jack just pipping the Danny O’Brien trained Young Werther for the win.

An emotional Maher post-race admitted he thought this runner might lack the class at Group 1 Level but “knew he was a very, very stayer.”
Margin - 0.1L. Time - 2.34.13. Last 600m - 35.81.

It was a big shootout in the TJ Smith Stakes over the 1200m with Nature Strip and Eduardo locking horns again after that amazing finish in the Challenge Stakes. And Bivouac who was coming in with a fantastic record when third up. But it was the ever-unpredictable Nature Strip making it back-to-back TJ Smith Stakes wins giving McDonald and Waller both their second win for the day. As expected, it was Nature Strip and Eduardo who set the tempo and they never gave the rest of the field a look in. The pair went two lengths clear as they straightened for home before McDonald powered away on the champion, riding him hands and heels to secure another Group 1 for the trio.

Waller admitted they got it all wrong in the Spring tactics-wise but reassessed for this prep. After seeing what his champion sprinter can do when sitting off the speed, that was what they wanted to do it here. “His run in the Lighting, he settled off the speed and blew them away”. He also mentioned that in the run in the Challenge Stakes he drew wide and had plenty of work to do but “today worked out perfectly.” McDonald added, “he’s a special galloper on his day” also going on to say “he’s been faultless all preparation.”
Margin - 2L. Time - 1.10.09. Last 600m - 34.71 (quickest of the meet).

The last of the Group 1’s was the Doncaster Mile. The Kerry Packer runner in Think It Over was scratched after vet’s inspected him prior to the race. On the way to the track, they found the George Ryder Stakes winner sustained abrasions in the float. Mugatoo was the well fancied runner after his impressive victory in The All-Star Mile. But it was the Cummings/Godolphin six-year-old gelding Cascadian going “KAH-ching”, being Godolphin’s third winner on the day with champion Victorian jockey Jamie Kah in the saddle. The pair found themselves in traffic as they turned for home, but the gap appeared at the 350m mark and Kah pounced on it. In another terrific photo finish, Kah’s mount narrowly got up holding out Icebath who stuck to the inside.
The win was Kah’s first Group 1 in Sydney and 5th Group 1 of her career.
Margin. 0.2L. Time - 1.36.36. Time - 36.14.

The last race on the action-packed card was the Group 3 PJ Bell Stakes over the 1200m in which Matchmaker gave both James McDonald and Chris Waller their third winner for the day. With a little bit of work around the turn and being the widest runner, JMac straightened up the filly to hold out Marboosha in another photo finish.
Margin. 0.1L. Time - 1.11.17. Last 600m - 35.76

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS AROUND THE COUNTRY

The Feature race at Caulfied was the Listed Gaililee Series Final over the mile and a half and it saw the odds-on favourite Liqueuro winning it by 0.75 lengths in 2.32.16. Melbourne Cup winning Jye McNeil was in the saddle for trainer Cindy Alderson. The win gave McNeil a double after he had won the opening event of the card with Hunnam for Team Hawkes.

Mark Zahra rode a treble with wins aboard Missile Mantra in Race 2 for the Snowdens, Annavisto in Race 5 for the Price/Kent Team and Independent Road for the Lindsay Park team.

Morphettville had 2 Listed Races on their program. The Blue Army continued their dominance on the day running the quinella in the Dequetteville Stakes. Todd Pannell rode Cloudy to victory with Jess Eaton second aboard Translation. Eaton rode a double with her wins coming aboard Magna Bella in the opening event and Reynolds in race 6.
The other listed feature was the Port Adelaide Guineas and it was Jacob Opperman taking it out aboard Royal Mile for Mount Gambier trainer Lee Creek. The winner gave Opperman a double after an earlier win when he combined with the Price/Kent team to ride home River Twain in race 3.

At Ascot the Group 2 W.A.T.C Derby went the ever-reliable combination of William Pike, Grant and Alana Williams and Bob Peters with the boom three-year0old Western Empire. The win gives him four consecutive victories. Chris Parnham had a day out riding four winners. He took out the opener with City Circle, then added a race-to-race double in Races 3 and 4 with Kaptain Kaos and Featherweight before rounding it off with Clairvoyance in race 7.

Speaking of days out, what about jockey Lee Magorrian at Newcastle? He rode the first four winners of the day. Yellowstone in race 1, Hot Spring Gold in the second race, Grace and Harmony in the third and Pretty Elisa in race 4.

There was plenty of action in Queensland with meetings at Doomben, Gold Coast and Toowoomba as well as Rockhampton.

Ben Thompson secured a race to race double at Doomben in Race 2 aboard Seat Of Power then Barefoot in Race 3. He made it a treble winning the last race with Wonderful Riri giving Steven O’Dea and Matt Hoysted a training double. They won the sixth event with Tumble Ridge.

Les Kelly scored a training double at Aquis Park on the Gold Coast with wins in Race 4 (Noble War) and the last (Split Not A Shock).

Brisbane based jockey Ryan “Wiggo” Wiggins had a good day out at Rockhampton with a treble. Victory in the opener with Karbors then a race to race double in race 4 with Last Chance and race 5 with Valley Rattler. Ashley Butler also rode a race to race double at this meeting with wins in race 2 with Hey Pal and and race 3 with Ultimate Ring.

Skye Bogenhuber continues her winning success since coming back from injury. She rode a double at Toowoomba on Saturday night where she took out the opener with Tripper then landed a second win in race 3 with Incomparable. Noriyuki Masuda rode a race to race double in the last two races with Atomic Feather and Spin That Wheel.

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