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Saturday Post Mortem with Chris Scholtz

by Chris Scholtz , 6 years ago

3 minute read

Chris Scholtz reviews racing around Australia on March 17.

THE STARS

RON QUINTON/DAYSEE DOOM: An emotional Coolmore Classic win for one of Randwick’s favourite sons with a mare who gives her all every time she lines up. It was Coolmore Classic win number five for Quinton – two as a jockey and three as a trainer – and the congrats for him from trainers and jockeys reflect how much he is respected in their ranks.

ANDREW ADKINS: Ron Quinton’s latest pupil racks his first Group One win on his favourite mare who he has ridden in seven of her nine wins. Incredibly Quinton’s three Coolmore Classic winners provided their riders Kathy O’Hara (OfcourseIcan), Sam Clipperton (Peeping) and now Adkins with their first G1 wins.

TONY McEVOY/SUNLIGHT: Another comprehensive win by McEvoy’s star filly underlines what a tremendous job he has done keeping her up through a six race campaign in Victoria, Queensland and NSW. Now there is just seven day to the one the really counts!

GRAHAME BEGG/WRITTEN BY: The Blue Diamond winner will be ready and waiting for Sunlight and company in the Slipper after a classy win the Pago Pago Stakes. It just had to be as it was 51 years to the day since Grahame Begg’s 87-year-old father, the great Neville Begg who bred and races Written By, began his training career in 1967.

GLYN SCHOFIELD: Had a carnival day out with three winners at Rosehill. Schofield now serves a two weeks suspension that keeps him out of the next two Group One days at Rosehill. The keen golfer advised he can be found on the greens working on his handicap.

JEFF LLOYD/MATT McGILLIVRAY: They dominated the Gold Coast meeting with the tireless Lloyd landing four winners but the big results going the way for McGillivray with his double in the $250,000 2YO Jewel and $100,000 Goldmarket.

WINX: Just a mention for the great one a she stopped traffic with her exhibition gallop after the first race at Rosehill. Made her trainer Chris Waller’s three winners on the day almost secondary.

TALKING POINTS

DOUGHT BREAKERS: So much for rating recent winning form as a reliable guide. Three horses broke long droughts at Rosehill when Dothraki, Multifacets and Peacock returned to the winning list.

The 7YO Dothraki was the daddy of them all, his Maurice McCarten Stakes win on protest (a result that was never in doubt) ended a losing streak of 881 days and 20 race starts.

For the record he had won seven trials since his previous win in the 2015 Lightning at Randwick. What’s more he was placed on this day as a two-year-old in 2013 in the Pago Pago Stakes!

Godolphin runner Peacock hadn’t won for 10 starts and 517 days and Multifacets had been winless for 16 starts and 482 days.

DARREN WEIR: Not all days are silk lined for the champion even though he had his usual share of success on Saturday with a double at Flemington including Humidor in the G2 Blamey Stakes plus a win at Morphettville.

The day started with bad news for the trainer when he was informed that the Japanese import Ittetsu had broken down in a quarantine track gallop at Canterbury in Sydney with a career-threatening fetlock injury.

Ittetsu was to join the Weir team this week for a crack at the G1 TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick on April 14.

After that disappointment the sometimes volatile trainer then had issues with officials at Flemington after several of his acceptors were late scratchings from their races.

After al that the day ended sourly for Weir when stewards opened an inquiry into the poor showing of his G1 star Tosen Stardom in the Blamey Stakes.

Weir was upset after he lost an argument with a Racing Victoria vet who ruled his filly Limestone out of her Flemington race on the grounds that she lame in both her left hind leg and right foreleg after her arrival on course.

Weir argued that filly has an unusual action and often appears lame until she warms up but his protest failed to make an impression on the vet.

Stewards announced that they will investigate Weir’s claims this week but in the meantime advised that Limestone will require a vet clearance before she can race again.

Weir did accept the late scratching of stablemate Iconoclasm without question after he was found to be lame in the off foreleg when he arrived at Flemington. He also requires a vet clearance prior to being permitted to race again.

However he was at a loss to explain the Blamey Stakes performance of Tosen Stardom when he was called to an inquiry with jockey Brad Rawiller.

Rawiller could also offer no explanation for the performance and a post-race vet examination failed to reveal any obvious abnormality, leaving stewards to advise that they will follow up with Weir in the ensuing days.

It now remains to see if Tosen Stardom makes it to Sydney with other members of the Weir team for the carnival.

DONCASTER FORM: The G2 Ajax Stakes was the key Doncaster Mile lead-up race at Rosehill but I will put more faith in the form Humidor displayed at Flemington to be a stronger guide to the Randwick feature.

Comin’ Through scraped home in the Ajax thanks to good fortune and a good ride from Michael Walker. Strong cases could be made that he was lucky to beat stablemates Tom Melbourne (2nd) and Cellarman (4th) in a blanket finish.

Humidor had to lift to beat a small field in the Blamey Stakes but he was second up over the 1600m and looks right on the mark for his coming Sydney engagements that is likely to include a return clash with Winx in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes a week after the Doncaster.

He still has a tendency to race awkwardly and wanted to hang in over the last 200m but the Cox Plate runner-up always had the second horse Cool Chap covered.

Perhaps he will be more tractable racing in the Sydney direction.

BOUQUETS AND BRICKBATS

PATRICK MOLONEY: Went to the top of the punters black list with his poorly judged ride on Top Of The Range at Flemington. The stewards report read like War And Peace such was the predicament Moloney found himself in on the promising galloper over the last 500m.”

Most of the trouble from the 500m could have been avoided if he had shifted wider when he had the opportunity. Enough said!

CRAIG WILLIAMS; Made an overnight dash from Melbourne to Sydney by car after riding at Moonee Valley on Friday night for his mounts at Rosehill. Some wags reckon he was still asleep at the wheel on some of his Rosehill rides.

JAMIE KAH: Just keeps racking up the winners in Adelaide with another treble at Morphettville. She’s a big leader of both the Adelaide and SA premierships and is fourth on the national list with 92 wins behind William Pike, Brenton Avdulla and Jeff Lloyd. A super season!

LEVI KAVANAGH: The son of noted trainer Mark Kavanagh gets off the mark in a big way at Flemington with Soho Ruby being his first career winner. He still works with his father but has a small team worth keeping an eye on.

RIDE OF THE DAY

AARON BULLOCK: Gosford is one of the tightest provincial courses in Australia but the Newcastle jockey rode a superb race to get home on Serene Miss in the $150,000 Provincial Championship heat. It was a race where there was a lot at stake but he never blinked in a highly competitive event.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

• “She was in beast mode. She’s one hell of a horse to ride that’s for sure. Last night I thought ‘gee what if I did get the ride’ and I started getting nervous. It makes you realise what Hughie does and how he handles it, he does a remarkable job.” – Kerrin McEvoy’s thoughts on Winx and Hugh Bowman after he rode the mare in her gallop at Rosehill.

THEY SAID IT

• “It has been a lucky race for me. I’ve always been fortunate that I’ve always had a few good mares around the place. Thank God for them….they are carrying the rest.” – Daysee Doom’s trainer Ron Quinton.

• “Ron is like family to me. He is like my second Dad.” – Andrew Adkins on his relationship with Ron Quinton.

• “I’ve asked a lot of her but she has the ability to handle it, not many can. It’s been an incredible journey, we’ve set out on this road and thank God we’ve just had a trouble free run - it’s very exciting.” - Sunlight’s trainer Tony McEvoy.

• “She was really quick early. Hopefully that run takes the edge off her for next week, she did need it because she was getting tired late. She’s a bit like her jockey in the fact she can put weight on pretty quick.” – Sunlight’s jockey Luke Currie.

• “He is a real athlete of a horse. He struggled a little bit going the opposite way but it should put him in good stead for next week.” – Written By’s jockey Jordan Childs.

• “He's down right at the weights, he was placed in the Randwick Guineas as a three-year-old, he's never been far away in some of the best races - I'd be pretty bullish about his chances." – Chris Waller’s Doncaster Mile hopes for Comin’ Through.

• “Making her trial was good from the punters perspective. Obviously there's a lot of questions that don't get answered in racing.” – Unforgotten’s trainer Chris Waller after she wins the Phar Lap Stakes two days after trialling at Randwick.

• “It's great for the connections of the winner but not so good for the connections of the other horse because he ran well below par.” – Darren Weir’s mixed emotions after the Blamey Stakes result with Humidor (first) and Tosen Stardom (last).

• “I was thinking of sacking him after he got beaten at Ipswich in December. I have won Goldmarkets with Spirit Of Boom and Gundy Son and to say I am shocked Raido has joined them is an understatement." – trainer Tony Gollan after Raido’s upset win at the Gold Coast.

• “Ability wise she can go better but distance wise she probably can’t go much further - she has to learn how to settle.” – Brenton Avdulla’s opinion of the wayward Sprightly Lass.

BLACKBOOK

TOP OF THE RANGE: Stewards report said it all. Should have won.

WYNDSPELLE: Ready to win in more suitable company.

SPIN: Quality youngster. Looking for 1400m.

TRIBAL WISDOM: There’s a race for him in Sydney.

HIYAAM: Certain to benefit from an excellent first-up effort.

HOPES ETERNAL: Set a big task under difficult conditions.

MAN OF HIS WORD: Well placed in Brisbane up to 1600m.
Racing and Sports

tags

Written By Dothraki Peacock Multifacets Ittetsu Tosen Stardom Limestone Iconoclasm Comin’ Through Tom Melbourne Cellarman Humidor TOP OF THE RANGE WYNDSPELLE SPIN TRIBAL WISDOM HIYAAM HOPES ETERNAL MAN OF HIS WORD

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