THE PETLEY REPORT: CRAIG WILLIAMS GIVES TOFANE HIS VOTE OF CONFIDENCE FOR THE TATTS TIARA

By Jack Petley | Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Crack Victorian jockey Craig Williams has elected to ride Mike Moroney's outstanding Gr1 winning mare Tofane in preference to the smart Brooklyn Hustle in the Tatts Tiara. Williams has been in fine form during the Brisbane carnival and says he feels he has gone the right way to gain the last Gr1 race of the season, The Tatts Tiara. A strong field of 17 plus three emergencies has been carded for the big event and many of Sydney's top riders and trainers will be on hand.

The Waller yard will field Nudge, Subpoenaed and Madam Rouge in the race with Hugh Bowman on Subpoenaed and Kerrin McEvoy on Nudge. Interesting, James McDonald isn't riding for the powerful Sydney yard and has been booked for NZ bred Odeon for the Price-Kent Victoria yard. Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young have Sierra Sue on hand, but she needs a scratching to get into the race, with Robbie Fradd up. And Kiwi John Sargent will also be represented in the big event with Emeralds and with Kiwi Jason Collett engaged. And I note that Mizzy, now with Annabelle Neasham, is in the field and with Godolphin providing Flit and Savatiano. Not a bad field to wind up what has been a wonderful Gr1 season in Australia.

Trent Bussutin says he has fingers crossed that Sierra Sue makes the field. "She has really come along since her sixth in the Dane Ripper," said the highly successful Kiwi. She galloped this morning (Tuesday) and pulled up sensationally. She is starting to look like she did when she won a Gr2 in the spring of last year."

The Kiwi trained mare Coventina Bay is also in the field and she goes into the event with a last start seventh in the Dane Ripper. "She has come through that really well," said her trainer Robbie Patterson. And he has welcomes that the weather outlook which is predicting rain." That would be a blessing," he said.

Local jockey Michael Cahill has gained the mount on Brooklyn Hustle for trainers Jason Warren and Dean Krongold after Jamie Kah turned down the mount because of likely border closes.

And while there will be great interest in the Tatts Tiara I see that exciting stayer Incentivise will tackle the Tatts Cup, a Gr3 event and his last for trainer before heading to Peter Moody. Earlier it had been thought the boom galloper would contest the Caloundra Cup. I note that Vow and Declare won the Tatts Cup and then went on to take the Melbourne Cup with this stayer at $32 in the market for the big one and $20 for the Caulfield Cup in early betting.

And news out of NZ is that leading syndicate Albert Bosma, head of Go racing, said earlier this week that the outstanding rising four-year-old Atishu has moved across the Tasman and into the Chris Waller yard. Atishu won the last four of her nine NZ starts for Stephen Marsh and one of her wins, in the Airfreight Stakes at Riccarton was won by an ever widening seven lengths. Said Bosma of the move: "We have got to take the advantage of the fact that we think she is a superstar and she has enormous earning potential through the spring in Australia." She will be taken through the grades but Bosma is hopeful that she will be on hand for such events as the Epsom Handicap and the $7.5m Golden Eagle.

Go Racing is a major syndicator and I see that it has 800 plus owners on his books and 50 horses in NZ and now 30 in Australia including Logan Street Lion and Mightybeel. And in Australia Go Racing horses are now with the Waller yard, John O'Shea, and Trent Busuttin.

Kiwi trainer Tony Pike has major plans for the half-brother to Melody Belle, Tutukaka for the spring with the VRC Derby on the likely agenda. This weekend he runs the two-year-old over 1800 metres in Brisbane." I was going through the programme and I saw this race at the tail end of the carnival and a horse like him probably needed to have some practice and mileage if he is going to have a crack at the Derby in the spring. We can't really do this in NZ at this time of the year," said the successful Kiwi. This will be the rising three-year-olds last run before spelling and being readied for the spring. At his last run Tutukaka ran third, finishing strongly from the back at the turn, for third behind two smart young gallopers, Volcanic Rock and Verbek. Pike will also have L:ebanese Trader at Doomben today.

From the UK four women have been charged by the police after having chained themselves to a running rail at Ascot on the final day (when Queen Elizabeth was in attendance) calling for climate change in Britain. When the four were to be moved it was discovered they had handcuffed themselves to the rail by the winning post and glued to a banner. A screen was placed around them before being taken away by the Thames Valley Police. Nick Smith of Royal Ascot and well known Down Under rated the incident as "minor" adding, "barely got noticed.”

Yet another smart filly has emerged from the Aidan O'Brien Ireland yard, Joan of Arc, winner on the weekend in France of the Prix de Diane Longines. That gave the champion trainer his first win in the event and I see that the wizard has now won every Classic in Britain, France and Ireland. O'Brien also has those outstanding fillies Love and Snowfall in his yard and already they are major contenders for the Arc. This latest star now sits at 20-1 for the Arc.