Cox Plate day review
October 29th 2007 06:39
Cox Plate day lived up to the hype as usual. It had it all for the true racing purists. It tugged at the heartstrings with Gallic winning the Moonne Valley Cup, we saw two magnificent mares clash. One a champion the other mighty close, Miss Andretti holds the title of Australia's best sprinter with a comprehensive demolition of a very brave Gold Edition. Of course, El Segundo bolted in from Australia'a best available weight for age gallopers to win the Cox Plate.
Race 1 was a very ordinary 1000m race to start with (refer to preveious posts for my exact thoughts) Kaphero was ridden just off the pace to win nicely for Damien Oliver, he enjoyed the drop in grade from last start behind Gold Edition. Spectacular Saint did a ton of work from the extreme outside gate and battled on very well. Stickpin couldn't go early but really found his form late in the piece and got home very nicely. There is a 1300m race on Sandown Classic day that has his name written all over it, his Sandown record is impeccable.
Race 2 saw Miss Marielle use her inside draw to control the race, Potomac was caught wide and was forced to go to the front which helped Miss Marielle's cause no end. Diva La Belle and Miss Tomma Hawk were given no chance by the prevailing pace of the race but finished off okay. The run of the race for me was Class Prevails, she copped the backwash of a scrimmage just after the start and somehow lost her spot and ended up three deep, she raced wide for the entire race and cheekily loomed up to win before the effort told and she ran a terrific third, she is going very well and can win soon. Bird of Fire looked unlucky on face value but really with the run she had was entitled to make ground when she got clear.
Race 3 looked tailor made for Royal Asscher on paper and that's the way it turned out, she raced off a hectic pace up front set by stablemate Gamble Me, Flea Flicker and Zizou. It is of note that those three filled three out of the last four places. Masked Assassin had a pretty good trail in transit but for some reason took off at the school. With the pace right on Luke Nolen had the opportunity to hold him up a little longer and run on. I think he might be going pretty well. Wilsons Promontory enjoyed the fast pace and caught the eye with conditions to suit. El Mandon trailed the fast pace and held off all but the winner, rising substantially in grade from his debut maiden win. He looks to have a future.
Race 4 - Champion mare beat a brilliant mare, end of story.
Race 5 - It's very rare that a raffle has two winning tickets. That is the only way to describe the dead heat between Maslins Beach and Autumn Journey.
Race 6 saw the Derby picture not really made much clearer, although Marching won nicely, he did have the perfect run just behind a slowish speed. Kibbutz caught the eye with his fast finishing second, coming from last. Barbaricus probably had every chance as he did trail the winner by 2 lengths throughout the race and didn't gain or lose any ground. Ribeiro is a tough grinding stayer who is being done no favours by being ridden back in slowly run races. The one mitigating factor in his past two has been wide draws which haven't helped his positioning. I would suggest to Lee Freedman that he considers pushing Ribeiro forward in the Derby next week and making it an honest staying test, which it generally isn't. Perhaps that is why the form doesn't stand up as a rule.
Race 7 - Whilst Lloyd Williams is a multi-millionaire owner who puts a lot into racing, he does have a ruthless streak when it comes to getting rid of horses when it becomes apparent that they have problems. However, it is one of racing's great stories, how loyal and devoted Williams is to his stayer Gallic, the horse has had a fractured pelvis and many tendon injuries yet continues to give his owner everything he has in every race. Lloyd Williams often espouses his love for the horse on racing radio porgrams and he got his reward with an easy win in the Moone Valley Cup. Why am I only talking about one horse? Because Gallic beat a field of hacks, some of which are surely destined for jumping careers next year.
Race 8 W.S COX PLATE
It was the slowest Cox Plate pace I have seen for many a year, where was the pressure from the thousand, where was the daring from the jockeys. It seemed as though no-one wanted to get criticised for doing something different. The first six out were the first six home. The backmarker jockeys gave temselves no hope by settling back and accepting their fate. Shane Dye wouldn't have put up with such tactics. Perhaps that is why he has ridden well over a hundred Group 1 winners and some blokes haven't. El Segundo won because he had the best turn of foot from the best position. Some other things became plainly obvious. Haradasun doesn't get further than a mile. Oliver stacked them up and led at his leisure and the horse still couldn't finish off. Efficient needs even further than 2000m. I would stick him in the Saab Quality before the Melbourne Cup. Zipping is going very well as is Eskimo Queen. Divine Madonna needs to be ridden ice-cold at the rear.
Race nine was the mile. I had a distance query on Sonic Quest, I think Lee Freedman did too as he was ridden back off the speed this time, but the change of tactics did the trick and he bolted in. Orange County wen okay at his favourite course.Tears I Cry did a heap of work early and fought on very well. The most honest horse in Victoria, Emerald Jack got back to last but chased very honestly and made up a heap of ground. Coming back from the 2000m to the mile was against him bust he ran his usual honest race.
The last was another mares race raffle. They put a stack on Whitehaven Girl but she was gone by the turn. Countess Marizza drew the winning raffle ticket but there will be a different winner next week. Ignore the run of Blessed Sue carrying 61.
HORSES TO FOLLOW FROM COX PLATE DAY
STICKPIN , CLASS PREVAILS , EL MANDON
Race 1 was a very ordinary 1000m race to start with (refer to preveious posts for my exact thoughts) Kaphero was ridden just off the pace to win nicely for Damien Oliver, he enjoyed the drop in grade from last start behind Gold Edition. Spectacular Saint did a ton of work from the extreme outside gate and battled on very well. Stickpin couldn't go early but really found his form late in the piece and got home very nicely. There is a 1300m race on Sandown Classic day that has his name written all over it, his Sandown record is impeccable.
Race 2 saw Miss Marielle use her inside draw to control the race, Potomac was caught wide and was forced to go to the front which helped Miss Marielle's cause no end. Diva La Belle and Miss Tomma Hawk were given no chance by the prevailing pace of the race but finished off okay. The run of the race for me was Class Prevails, she copped the backwash of a scrimmage just after the start and somehow lost her spot and ended up three deep, she raced wide for the entire race and cheekily loomed up to win before the effort told and she ran a terrific third, she is going very well and can win soon. Bird of Fire looked unlucky on face value but really with the run she had was entitled to make ground when she got clear.
Race 3 looked tailor made for Royal Asscher on paper and that's the way it turned out, she raced off a hectic pace up front set by stablemate Gamble Me, Flea Flicker and Zizou. It is of note that those three filled three out of the last four places. Masked Assassin had a pretty good trail in transit but for some reason took off at the school. With the pace right on Luke Nolen had the opportunity to hold him up a little longer and run on. I think he might be going pretty well. Wilsons Promontory enjoyed the fast pace and caught the eye with conditions to suit. El Mandon trailed the fast pace and held off all but the winner, rising substantially in grade from his debut maiden win. He looks to have a future.
Race 4 - Champion mare beat a brilliant mare, end of story.
Race 5 - It's very rare that a raffle has two winning tickets. That is the only way to describe the dead heat between Maslins Beach and Autumn Journey.
Race 6 saw the Derby picture not really made much clearer, although Marching won nicely, he did have the perfect run just behind a slowish speed. Kibbutz caught the eye with his fast finishing second, coming from last. Barbaricus probably had every chance as he did trail the winner by 2 lengths throughout the race and didn't gain or lose any ground. Ribeiro is a tough grinding stayer who is being done no favours by being ridden back in slowly run races. The one mitigating factor in his past two has been wide draws which haven't helped his positioning. I would suggest to Lee Freedman that he considers pushing Ribeiro forward in the Derby next week and making it an honest staying test, which it generally isn't. Perhaps that is why the form doesn't stand up as a rule.
Race 7 - Whilst Lloyd Williams is a multi-millionaire owner who puts a lot into racing, he does have a ruthless streak when it comes to getting rid of horses when it becomes apparent that they have problems. However, it is one of racing's great stories, how loyal and devoted Williams is to his stayer Gallic, the horse has had a fractured pelvis and many tendon injuries yet continues to give his owner everything he has in every race. Lloyd Williams often espouses his love for the horse on racing radio porgrams and he got his reward with an easy win in the Moone Valley Cup. Why am I only talking about one horse? Because Gallic beat a field of hacks, some of which are surely destined for jumping careers next year.
Race 8 W.S COX PLATE
It was the slowest Cox Plate pace I have seen for many a year, where was the pressure from the thousand, where was the daring from the jockeys. It seemed as though no-one wanted to get criticised for doing something different. The first six out were the first six home. The backmarker jockeys gave temselves no hope by settling back and accepting their fate. Shane Dye wouldn't have put up with such tactics. Perhaps that is why he has ridden well over a hundred Group 1 winners and some blokes haven't. El Segundo won because he had the best turn of foot from the best position. Some other things became plainly obvious. Haradasun doesn't get further than a mile. Oliver stacked them up and led at his leisure and the horse still couldn't finish off. Efficient needs even further than 2000m. I would stick him in the Saab Quality before the Melbourne Cup. Zipping is going very well as is Eskimo Queen. Divine Madonna needs to be ridden ice-cold at the rear.
Race nine was the mile. I had a distance query on Sonic Quest, I think Lee Freedman did too as he was ridden back off the speed this time, but the change of tactics did the trick and he bolted in. Orange County wen okay at his favourite course.Tears I Cry did a heap of work early and fought on very well. The most honest horse in Victoria, Emerald Jack got back to last but chased very honestly and made up a heap of ground. Coming back from the 2000m to the mile was against him bust he ran his usual honest race.
The last was another mares race raffle. They put a stack on Whitehaven Girl but she was gone by the turn. Countess Marizza drew the winning raffle ticket but there will be a different winner next week. Ignore the run of Blessed Sue carrying 61.
HORSES TO FOLLOW FROM COX PLATE DAY
STICKPIN , CLASS PREVAILS , EL MANDON
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