SATURDAY POST MORTEM – February 25

3 minute read

Chris Scholtz reviews racing around Australia on February 25.

THE STARS

WINX/BLACK HEART BART/CATCHY: Each was outstanding in their own way. And let’s not forget Kawi across the ditch.

JOAO MOREIRA: Horses just run for the Magic Man - and boy can he lift them in a finish.

LINDSAY PARK: Colin Hayes would be mighty proud of son David and his family partners – the stable is flying!

DARREN WEIR: Terrific results add to his Melbourne dominance – we just need to see him do it in Sydney!

TIM CLARK: Mastered the tough conditions at Randwick with a winning treble.

MARK NEWNHAM: His first Group winner certainly won’t be his last.

RONNIE STEWART: Journeyman jockey has found a happy home in Brisbane. Longshot winners are his speciality.

MICK O’NEIL: A rookie country trainer comes to Randwick for his first career win - at the age of 68. Nothing like a late starter!

TUNES: They should strike a medal for the iron horse of Adelaide. He has raced across three states at least once every month since February of 2015 without a spell. The 8YO has had 47 starts in that time for five wins and 14 placings and now it’s on to the Adelaide Cup.

QUOTES OF THE DAY

GRANT YOUNG: Loved this comment from the trainer of iron horse Tunes - “I think the horse is going better than last year.” Yeah, right!

CHRIS WALLER: “There was so much expectation to run her - I didn’t want to see tomorrow’s newspaper if I didn’t run her.” Sums up the dilemma he was facing with Winx as the rain came down at Randwick.

SIN BIN

A BLUE BLUE DAY: Flops by Hartnell, Chetwood and a few others made it a day to forget for the Godolphin team.

TURN ME LOOSE: It looks a long way back from his poor Futurity effort.

JENNIFER LYNN: A Darren Weir shocker.

SECOND BULLET: Did stewards check if this was the same horse we saw two weeks ago?

LUKE NOLEN: Bet he would like his Jameka ride over again.

GLYN SCHOFIELD: They walked but fighting Danish Twist was a poor look.

RIDES OF THE DAY

JOAO MOREIRA: Both his Caulfield wins were gems.

JASON COLLETT: Took the rails gamble and it worked brilliantly on La Bella Diosa.

RACHEL MURRAY: Lost nothing against Sydney’s best with her ride on longshot winner Mr Spin. No wonder she is in top five NSW riders this season.

GLEN COLLESS: Brisbane observers were singing about his precision ride on Tyzone.

TALKING POINTS

JUKEBOX: The controversy over his Blue Diamond scratching is based on the view that some veterinary decisions are made without in-depth knowledge of the horse and its history. It’s a debate that has raged for years – Kiwi and Universal Prince are two famous and controversial vet scratching examples.

FUHRYK: This hot favourite’s late scratching at the barrier reignites the call to give punters a time span (3 minutes) to reinvest, just as they do in Hong Kong. Can we forget SKY schedules and give punters a fair go?

BLUE DIAMOND FORM: Will Catchy and Pariah bring this form to Rosehill?

SLIPPER QUALIFIERS: Randwick wet track leaves a big question over Sweet Embrace/ Skyline form. Not good enough?

MONEY TALKS

BENZ: The smart punters got this one right first-up.

PARIAH: They came for him big time on the day. Just missed.

SILENT SEDITION: Punters cheered for the get out bet of the day.

BLACK HEART BART: Bookies paid dearly when they took him on.

DIXIE BLOSSOMS: Confident late firmer was never in doubt.

NICCANOVA: Big punters were all over Brisbane’s latest boom horse.

BLACKBOOK

OMEI SWORD: Great return after delayed prep. Oozes class.

SINGLE BULLET: Tough run in the testing ground but never shirked it.

EXOSPHERIC: Top shelf stayer. Australian Cup maybe, BMW definitely!

EXTREME CHOICE: Big sectionals. Hard to beat against own age.

PALENTINO Expect him to fire at Flemington - it's his track.