Astern Gives Godolphin Second Golden Rose
- Saturday, 10 September 2016 08:10
Sheikh Mohammed's investment in Australian racing has reaped yet another big prize with Godolphin colt Astern's win in the Golden Rose.
Godolphin won the $1 million race a year ago with Exosphere but both trainer John O'Shea and jockey James McDonald believe Astern has the scope to go on to even better things.
"He ran the 1400 (metres) pretty well I thought," McDonald said.
Astern, ridden by James McDonald, wins the Golden Rose
"He might even run a mile. He's very good. The world's his oyster.
"He's the real, real, real deal."
Astern came from the back in the field to dominate the final 200 metres of Saturday's Group One race at Rosehill, beating Omei Sword by 2-1/4 lengths.
The two were the respective market leaders with Astern at $3.20 and Omei Sword $4.40.
"He showed how dominant he is," O'Shea said.
"It's a team effort to persist on teaching him to be a good horse.
"I'm always learning about this game."
Astern has only been beaten once when unplaced in the Golden Slipper and used what O'Shea believes is the right lead-up in the Run To The Rose.
"We thought the Run To The Rose was an exceptional form race," he said.
"If we got everything right we'd give him a chance to do the job for us and he did."
Bookmakers have been quick to promote him to the top of the Caulfield Guineas market, turning him in from $21 to $4.
Yankee Rose had come in for support in the day leading up to the race to start at $5.
The ATC Sires' Produce winner and the only horse in the field of 14 three-year-olds successful at Group One level, Yankee Rose led for much of the race but failed to finish it off, and was beaten into sixth.
"It was probably a little bit different from her today," jockey Zac Purton said.
"She was rolling around a lot during the race, changing strides a couple of times in her action.
"She didn't quite hit the line like she has been so we'll see how she pulls up."
Astern's stablemate Impending ($11) was one of those to go past her and finished a pleasing third.
"We're proud of both horses," O'Shea said.
"Brenton (Avdulla) had not a lot of luck on the inside.
"I think he's a colt of immense future."
Trainer Chris Waller said Omei Sword would run next in the Group One Flight Stakes (1600m) against her own sex while her jockey Joao Moreira said she was a little unlucky.
"Lovely run. She was a bit unlucky turning for home. She got held up a bit but I don't think if she had have gotten a run later she would have beaten the winner.
"The winner was too good."
Palentino Wins G1 Makybe Diva Stakes
- Saturday, 10 September 2016 08:10
Palentino's affinity for Flemington has continued with the Darren Weir-trained horse upsetting his stablemate Black Heart Bart in the Group One Makybe Diva Stakes.
Giving Weir the first one-two Group One finish of his training career, Palentino ($9) unleashed a devastating turn of foot in Saturday's 1600m weight-for-age race to chase down $2.05 favourite Black Heart Bart to win by a length.
The stablemates drew clear, with He Or She ($13) another two lengths away third.
Palentino is yet to be beaten across the line at Flemington from four starts but did lose the CS Hayes Stakes earlier this year on protest.
He has now won two Group Ones at Flemington with his first coming in the Australian Guineas in March.
After Saturday's victory third-up from a spell, Palentino will now be put on a path to the Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley.
"He's a genuine superstar," winning jockey Mark Zahra said.
"You'd love the Cox Plate to be here. The way he settled and found the line, there's no reason why not to go for it. The only downside is the tighter track and up in trip but he's getting better with racing."
Zahra said he knew when Palentino settled well in a midfield position that he would run home strongly, but he just needed to get clear running from the top of the straight which he did.
Black Heart Bart settled fourth and hit the front at the 300m before Palentino emerged on his outside.
"Today his turn of foot was electric," Zahra said.
Zahra said he thought he could get up to Black Heart Bart in the straight but wasn't sure if he would get past him.
Weir was thinking the same.
"When he got to the outside of Black Heart Bart, I didn't know whether he would get past him but I thought he would test him," Weir said.
"Obviously just having the one extra run this preparation helped him, and the other horse ran great as well."
Black Heart Bart won the Memsie Stakes first-up and jockey Damien Oliver said he was brave in defeat on Saturday.
"We arrived a little sooner than I wanted to but if I had of come back and waited I would have been checking him to come back," Oliver said.
"The winner had the last crack at him but he was very brave in defeat."
Rain Wipes Out Last Three Doomben Races
- Saturday, 10 September 2016 08:10
The last three races at Doomben were abandoned on Saturday after heavy rain lashed Doomben mid-afternoon, leaving the track sodden and the official enclosure under water.
Stewards inspected the track at 3.15pm and after originally indicating the meeting would not go ahead they elected to give the track 40 minutes to dry out.
However, after a 4pm inspection by stewards and jockeys it was decided the track was unfit for racing and the last three races were abandoned.
"The jockey feel it would be unsafe and there safety is always paramount," said chief steward Dan Aurisch.
Meanwhile, stewards will call for a list of sectional times before deciding whether to take any action against apprentices Josh Oliver and Bridget Grylls after the Open Hcp (2200m) at Doomben on Saturday.
Oliver, on Black Jag, and Grylls, on Ranked, got 10 lengths in front of the third horse at one stage of the race but were under pressure on the home turn.
Black Jag faded to finish last and Ranked was second last.
Chief steward Dan Aurisch asked the pair why they had not made attempts to restrain their mounts.
"I didn't realise I was that far in front both of us riders found it hard to work out who the leader was going to be," Oliver said.
Grylls said she also didn't realise they were that far in front so she had just held her ground and didn't think they had gone that hard.
Ranked's trainer John Wallace and Black Jag's trainer Trevor Whittington agreed there had been nothing malicious in the rides.
"They just went too hard. It is as simple as that," Wallace said.
Auriscsh said stewards weren't alleging anything malicious but had to decide whether they should take any other action.
"We will ask for sectional times from the race and other races. We also want your masters to be here," he said.
Heavens Above On Epsom Handicap Path
- Saturday, 10 September 2016 08:10
Seven years after his last Group One winner, trainer Tim Martin believes he has a horse on his hands who can deliver his next.
Since Typhoon Zed won the Manikato Stakes in 2009, Martin has scaled down his operation and almost gave away training completely to concentrate on educating young horses on his farm outside Sydney.
Among those horses was Heavens Above, winner of Saturday's Group Three Sheraco Stakes (1200m) and Martin's hope for the Epsom Handicap.
She was his second winner on the program after Moral Victory won a benchmark race.
"I can't remember my last double on a Saturday," Martin said.
"But I do know Heavens Above is a very good horse.
"She is the whole reason I kept going. I trained her out at the farm and developed her from a baby.
"She will go to the Golden Pendant in two weeks and back up a week later into the Epsom Handicap."
The five-year-old is already experienced at Group One level, finishing second to Azkadellia in the Queen Of The Turf Stakes earlier this year.
Her Sheraco win was a close call with Tye Angland getting her in the clear late.
She poked her head out to beat Ravi with Magic Alibi third.
Martin said he was slowly and selectively building his numbers and now had 17 horses in full time work at Rosehill.
NZ Colt Saracino Wins Danehill Stakes
- Saturday, 10 September 2016 08:10
New Zealand colt Saracino has made an immediate impact in Melbourne, upstaging his Australian rivals in the Group Two Danehill Stakes at Flemington.
The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained three-year-old defeated older horses in a Group Two race in New Zealand in his season return last month before heading to Melbourne for the spring.
Saracino ($6) raced right on the speed in Saturday's straight 1200m sprint against his own age and kept finding under jockey Damien Oliver to defeat Godolphin-owned colt Archives ($6.50) by a long neck.
Samara Dancer, the only filly in the race, was another three-quarters of a length away third.
"I thought it was a very brave effort. He was in front a long way out," Baker said.
"He kept kicking all the way up the straight which is a good effort at Flemington.
"You'd like to think he could make the Caulfield Guineas but who knows, he might not be a miler. He might be just a straight sprinter.
"There's plenty of options open for him if he's not going to get the mile."
Saracino was Group-placed twice as a two-year-old in New Zealand and Baker said he had always shown ability.
The Caulfield Guineas Prelude over 1400m looms as a campaign-defining race for Saracino, with his performance there likely to determine whether he presses on to the Guineas over 1600m or sticks to shorter distances.
"I suppose the jury is out a little bit," Oliver said, in regards to whether Saracino would be strong at the Guineas distance.
"We'll get him to 1400 metres and see how he goes. He's quite brilliant but with a bit more racing under his belt he might be OK."