Black Book: Horses You Must Follow From Randwick 4/3

Image: Bradley Photos

The replays and sectional times have been reviewed from a memorable Day 1 of The Championships at Royal Randwick. Our analyst has Black Booked 5 runners on the card. 

Blue Door

The Baker filly was outstanding recording a 0.2L win on debut in the G3 Kindergarten Stakes. She jumped well and settled outside her stablemate Artaneous setting a solid clip. She cruised clear at the top of the of the straight and was entitled to be weak late when she looked like being challenged by The Next Episode and Ingonito at the 100m. She was able to find another gear to get the job done whilst Artaneous faded to finisih 14L last, adding merit to her all the way effort. Her final 600m came in at 34.43s.

You can expect her to improve significantly off her first day at the races as she only had one trial leading in, which was a dominant 7L 900m Rosehill win. The 1 trial was something Bjorn Baker was suspect of leading in. There was plenty of noise and finger pointing around runner up The Next Episode missing the kick by a couple of lengths but barrier manners are an important asset and the sole responsibility of the horse, not attendants. Blue Door the one to be following from the race. 

Get Our Free Racing Tips & Late Mail Via WhatsApp Here

Miss Chanel

The Waterhouse/Bott team look to have a nice G1 Champagne Stakes contender after she produced an eye-catching finish in the G1 Sires Produce. The Tagaloa filly settled at the rear and was the widest runner on the turn before unleashing a great run down the outside to finish 0.7L 2nd to Campione D’italia. She has a few bad habits to iron out wanting to lay in at the top of the straight before knuckling down and is still a 6 start maiden that has been in work since November. The stable will be desperate to keep her going for the G1 over 1600m in a fortnight.

Green Spaces

It was an outstanding staying performance by the Baker colt recording a dominant 3.1L win in the Derby. King positioned him perfectly a pair forward of midfield and 1 off the fence where he relaxed beautifully with his head on his chest. He moved into the race nicely and looked in for a great battle with Storm Leopard at the 300m. His final 200m was outstanding both visually and on the clock recording 12.56s, which was 0.29s quicker than Dezignation’s next fastest.

It can be fraught with risk getting too carried away with Derby and Oaks form when assessing horse’s abilities to stay against the older horses but this guy looks to have something special and will be aimed at the Cups in the spring. 

Sheza Alibi

Far from a smart find but it would be remiss not to mention the outstanding effort of Sheza Alibi in the Doncaster. Gate 13 was a query for a filly stepping up to an open G1 Handicap for the first time and she did find herself at the rear with no opportunity to find cover a pair or two closer. She did it tough on the turn finding herself on the outside of a wall of 13 horses. It made no difference as she went through her gears and exploded away for a sensational 4.2L win. Her final 600m was 34.4s. Compare that to what was produced in the G1 TJ Smith over 1200m and it was 0.15s slower than the fast finishing Giga Kick and 0.35s quicker than Tentyris’. We may have to wait longer than we would like but her clash with Autumn Glow will be the biggest we’ve seen in the country for some time. Most likely in the G1 Champions Stakes at Flemington in the spring.

Plaintiff

It was of similar style to Sheza Ablibi but on a much smaller stage for Plaintiff winning the G3 PJ Bell Stakes to close out the card. The Snowden filly was forced to go back to the rear from the outside gate in a field of 17 and still covered ground travelling 3-wide with cover. She was in a near identical position to the Doncaster winner on the point of the turn on the extreme outside of a wall of horses. She ambled up under minimal riding before being unleashed from the 300m to score a 0.4L win and taking her career record to 4: 4-0-0.

The blinkers seem to have helped her to find an extra gear this prep. It’s a fair guess to say she tackles the G3 Carr Stakes over 1400m on Day 3 of The Championships where she likely gets map upside making her very tough to beat.