The Racing Weekend In Review 27/3

Rosehill took centre stage with the running of five Group 1’s on Golden Slipper day. After a two week build up for the meeting it certainly delivered in every aspect. In Victoria it was Bendigo which had a standalone Saturday meeting and whilst there were no Group 1’s there were still a couple of nice winners to come from the meeting. 

Rosehill

The Group 1’s kicked off with the Ranvet Stakes which arguably was the highlight of the day. It was built up to be the rematch of Verry Elleegant and Addeybb and once again the two were left to battle it out down the straight. For the first time in their three meetings it was Verry Elleegant who got the better of the international raider in front of a roaring Australian crowd. The Queen Elizabeth sets up to be an epic contest in a few weeks time. 

Behind the first two was surprise place getter Angel Of Truth who gave a cheeky sight after leading the whole way. Finishing off well was Cox Plate champion Sir Dragonet who looked to be back to his best out to 2000 metres.  

Next up was the Rosehill Guineas where Mo’unga started the firm favourite with Annabel Neasham looking for her first Group 1 as a trainer. After getting cluttered up behind runners in the Randwick Guineas jockey Tommy Berry gave a 10/10 steer on him this time finding his way to the outside with plenty of time to claim Sky Lab in the shadows of the post. There were great scenes in the aftermath with Neasham overjoyed with emotion after claiming her first Group 1 within her first year of training. 

Montefelia finished off well into 3rd and looks hard to beat in the Australian Oaks. However, it looks like trainer David Payne and connections are considering sending her to the Australian Derby to take on the boys. 

The biggest upset of the day was Think It Over in the George Ryder Stakes. The underrated galloper once again started double figure odds and under a cool Glen Boss ride he was able to get the perfect run. Dreamforce was incredibly stiff to miss out holding onto 2nd ahead of the fast finishing Godolphin duo Avilius and Cascadian. 

It was another case of a fast finishing Godolphin duo, this time in the Golden Slipper with Anamoe and Ingratiating filling the minor placings. However, there was no catching Stay Inside once he got past Profiteer at the 200 metre mark with Tommy Berry giving him a perfect ride. The sky’s the limit for this colt with trainers Richard and Michael Freedman already mapping out a path to The Everest. For the time being he heads to the Sires Produce after pulling up a treat and should prove hard to beat there. 

The Group 1 racing came to a close with the running of The Galaxy and it was Edurado who got out in front and ran his rivals into the ground. Coming off a victory over Nature Strip first up he was going to be hard to beat but his major concern was carrying the number 1 saddlecloth. It didn’t seem to worry the Joseph Pride trained sprinter who also now dreams at another crack at The Everest later this year. 

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Bendigo 

Down in Victoria, the Bendigo meeting didn’t quite hit the heights Rosehill did on Saturday but there were still plenty of quality horses running around. The feature of the day was the Golden Mile which was taken out by Australian Bloodstock import Ironclad. Jamie Kah who rode a treble on the day was able to get Ironclad in the box seat before presenting him around the final turn where he went on to score by two lengths.  

The lightly raced gelding came to Australia with no lofty expectations but his rise through the grades over the Autumn have got connections comparing him to All-Star Mile winner Mugatoo, who was able to put up a picket fence when touching down under winning his first three in Australia. Ironclad has gone one better with the win over the weekend and will now be sent for a break ahead of a potential Group 1 start in the Spring.

Behind the winner was a host of interesting runners including WA visitor Platoon flashing home for 2nd after his Australian Cup flop. The most intriguing runner was English King who finished back in 9th at his first Australian start. After running in the Group 1 Epsom Derby last year the highly touted colt had two more runs overseas before being sold through the Autumn Horses in Training Sale in the UK. His run on Saturday was a pass mark as it was below his pet distance but a step up in trip in the Queen Elizabeth will give another interesting sub plot to an already stacked lineup.

The youngster to follow from the meeting was the all impressive Starry Legend after he took out the Vobis Gold Rush. Leading them all the way he gave a strong kick at the top of the straight and never looked like being headed. Trainer John Sadler gave a glowing report to the talented colt this morning saying “He’s the best sprinter I’ve trained”, before throwing in the idea of an Everest run! It’s a big call from Sadler who once trained a bloke named Nature Strip. 

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Looking ahead to next weekend…

Two Group 1’s to look forward to as Rosehill wraps up their carnival with Tancred Stakes day. The feature of the day won’t have the two biggest names in Verry Elleegant and Addeybb but expect there to still be a quality lineup with the likes of Melody Belle and Colette heading that way. Racing heads back to the City in Melbourne with the Group 3 Easter Cup the headline act. 

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