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In-form Stephen Farley stayer Gazza Guru is eyeing back to back north-coast Cups as he lines up in the feature at Coffs Harbour this afternoon.
Photo by Racing and Sports
Fresh from his South Grafton Cup success under jockey Matthew Bennett last month, Gazza Guru looks superbly placed to land an impressive double in a solid renewal of this afternoon’s $80,000 Coffs Harbour Cup.
The hardy eight-year-old carries just 54kg today, 3kg less than his South Grafton Cup success where he finished half a length clear of Casse Sqarette 25 days ago.
He ran to a weight-adjusted Timeform figure of 109 which will make him very hard to beat today.
He’s a specialist over the mile, a trip he’s won at six times in 22 starts. He’s super fit, wearing blinkers which sharpened him up immensely last start and should get every chance to muster his trademark finishing burst.
It looks a tougher race than the South Grafton Cup but this son of Street Cry is well and truly up to it.
Bede Murray’s World Wide looks the major testing material here.
He finished 2.8L behind Sacred Flyer at Rosehill 12 days ago running to a weight-adjusted figure of 109, matching Gazza Guru’s South Grafton Cup performance.
It maintained World Wide’s high level of consistency this campaign and was the fourth time in a row he’d run to a weight-adjusted figure of 108 or more.
The form around him is solid and this looks an ideal race for him. The one concern is the drop back to a mile – he’s done plenty of miles already this campaign and may find that a little bit sharp, but he is a three-time winner over this trip already so it’s by no means an impediment.
With 55.5kg on his back, he must be respected.
Patinack Farm castoff Hour Of Peril is a curious runner here for his new trainer John Nikolic.
He was only half a length behind Fancy Pants at Grafton 18 days ago on debut for this stable, running to a weight-adjusted figure of 106.
He’s capable of better than that and is a two-time winner over the mile. He also stands to benefit from running in more suitable races under Nikolic.
Over the Queensland winter he gamely contested the Group 2 Hollindale Stakes (1800m) at Gold Coast, and the Group 3 Lord Mayor’s Cup (1600m).
He was outclassed on both occasions but did manage to get within three lengths of Lights Of Heaven in that Hollindale, and a repeat of that run would make him almost impossible to beat today.
Gai Waterhouse has a runner in Kontiki Park although he’s been lugged with 60kg which has compressed most of the weights here.
I tend to think that’s too much weight and he hasn’t won in almost a year now, but Gai does have a habit of picking off these types of races.
Enjoy an intriguing Coffs Harbour Cup.
