Tasracing

Carnival Contenders 2018

Our Carnival Contender series will highlight prominent runners in the big races across the Tasmanian Summer Racing Carnival.
We’ll provide our form expert Tristan Heffernan’s assessment for all the carnival contenders and an interview with the trainers hosted by Peter Staples.

Gee Gee Pengala

Tristan Heffernan’s Assessment
Follow Tristan @tmheffernan
Gee Gee Pengala is a nicely bred 2yo who is a half-brother to former open class galloper Pengalas Gee Gee by leading sire Wordsmith. He was sent out as an odds-on favourite on debut off a nice trial win and was only narrowly beaten by Triple Strip after running wide on the bend. Gee Gee Pengala looks a strong type with plenty of early speed so expect him to be in the firing line through many of the feature 2yo races throughout the carnival.

Gee Gee Queen Bee

Gee Gee Queen Bee is a younger sister to gun sprinter Gee Gee Red Prince who was a star at the early 2yo trials showing blistering speed. She was sent out a long odds-on favourite on debut and showed her customary speed before tiring late to run 2nd behind Gee Gee Secondover.  Gee Gee Queen Bee is a jump and run filly who has the end of her races to work on but if they can harness her early speed to help her finish off she looks to have the talent to show up through the 2yo season.

Il Regalo

Tristan Heffernan’s Assessment
Il Regalo was the state’s leading 2yo before injury interrupted her first season of racing. She returned with an impressive win against older horses before running home into 4th in a hot 3yo Cup. She doesn’t have the early speed she showed as an early 2yo and now prefers to settle behind the speed and run home. Il Regalpo is racing like she will get over some ground and if that is the case she looks well placed in races like the Thousand Guineas, potentially on the way through to the Tasmanian Oaks.