A sustained stretch of racing on the Devonport synthetic finally came to an end on Sunday, with Hobart and Launceston now scheduled to carry the load until December.
Two names that generally don’t enjoy as much success in Devonport as they do on the grass tracks are Scott Brunton and David Pires but they each enjoyed a day out on Sunday with three winners respectively.
The winners
1009m
Race 1 (BM60) – Loki Patera 59.81
1150m
Race 2 (Maiden) – Gold Current 1:09.47
Runaway Girl (David Pires) winning in Devonport
1350m
Race 5 (BM60) – Runaway Girl 1:21.39
Race 4 (BM66) – Born Magic 1:22.59
Race 3 (Maiden) – Black Magic Woman 1:24.12
1650m
Race 6 (BM74) – Galway Girl 1:41.31
1880m
Race 7 (Maiden/Class 1) – Banca Syd 1:59.44
Race summaries
Race 1: Sustained speed was enough to deliver Loki Patera ($5.50 out to $9) a win in the first of the day. With other potential leaders slightly slow away, Mehmet Ulucinar went to the front early and kept the foot down which was enough to steal a break on the other placegetters Tiltherewarsyou ($15) and Schazem ($13) who were the two backmarkers in the run. No doubt the 1009m suits the winner so the challenge for him will be transferring this to grass where an 1100m race would be the next best option. The two disappointments here were Bandinelli ($3.60 into $2.60) who had heavy market support late but never looked comfortable and Fitzwilliam ($2.25 out to $2.90) who was vetted pre-race and certainly wasn’t the horse we’d seen win his last two starts.
Gold Current (Kyle Maskiell) wins a maiden in Devonport.
Race 2: Gold Current ($2.15 into $1.85) won like a good thing should after a perfect steer from Kyle Maskiell. After missing the start at his first Tasmanian run punters who took the short price would have been sweating on the barriers opening but the 4YO gelding jumped well and from there Maskiell ensured a smooth path to the middle of the track in the straight. The horse had easily the fastest last 600m, 400m and 200m of the race to beat admittedly a moderate field, with the rest headed by Maywyn is the Word ($21) 2.5 lengths from the winner.
Race 3: Troy Baker waited patiently aboard Black Magic Woman ($3.30 into $2.60F) and was rewarded with victory by the narrowest of margins. Baker never left the inside rail aboard the 3YO filly but still had to record the fifth fastest last 400m for the meeting to wear down the leader Elite Diva ($4.60 out to $7) who had a soft time of things in front. The way she finished suggests the winner will get over more ground but this race was considerably slower than the two other 1350m races on the day and with just 3.3 lengths splitting first and last it poses queries on the strength of this form going forward.
Black Magic Woman (Troy Baker) wins a 1350-metre maiden in Devonport.
Race 4: Underrated mare Born Magic ($3.10 out to $5.50) defied a drift to win for the third time in her last five starts. The 8YO is a horse the market continually gets wrong, being a noticeable drifter at her past three runs, winning two of them and finishing second at the other. She raced behind the leader Gee Gees Cricket ($6.50) at only a fair tempo and the advantage in running that jockey Georgie Catania had was enough to hold a margin on the closers. This race produced some of the fastest closing sectionals of the program with Tezlah ($26 out to $61) showing the ability he possesses to run second at a big price. As much as $10 was bet about Miss Excess ($3.40EF) but she had her work cut out settling back in a sit/sprint affair and the same can be said for Fiveandfurther ($3.40EF) who came from last.
Race 5: In a fast run race Runaway Girl ($3.50F) continued her excellent form since joining the Scott Brunton stable. The 7YO mare had to tough it out at both ends of the race after settling behind the leader Trojan Storm ($13), jockey David Pires hit the front a long way from home and as she’s shown in the past, the mare had a tendency to drift up the track. The winner was out of petrol tickets late but just held off Mywordis ($5.50 out to $7.50) who ran on from midfield and Aragon Star ($15 into $11) who was caught behind a pair going backwards just before the home turn. The money went amiss on Gee Gee Top Tip ($9 into $4.80) who settled a distant last and despite having the fastest closing sectionals of the race, was well off the placings. This race was seven lengths quicker than the prior race over the same distance in higher grade.
Born Magic (Georgie Catania) winning in Devonport.
Race 6: Galway Girl ($4 into $3.20EF) continued her rapid rise through the grades scoring her most impressive win since arriving in Tasmania. Apprentice Brandon Louis had to do all the work aboard the mare after racing outside the leader Gee Gee Wynett ($10 out to $20), Louis booted clear on the home turn and had almost two lengths in hand on the line. She beat some handy performers in this field so it was no great surprise to hear the 2021 Devonport Cup will be the aim after a short spell. Sh’Bourne Rebel ($3.80 out to $6.50) made a run from last to get into second, showing that he can see out a mile while the well-backed Dothraki Princess ($4.80 into $3.20EF) could only grind away for third after racing behind the lead. Banstead ($7) enjoyed a good run from the 1-1 position but dropped out in the straight and it will be interesting to see if his form quickly turns around on the grass.
Race 7: David Pires controlled the race from the front aboard Banca Syd ($3.50F) for a soft win and delivered himself and trainer Scott Brunton trebles for the day. Pires did as he pleased in front before lifting the tempo from the 600m to ensure those chasing had a lot to do and turning for home he was the only horse you wanted to be on. The 5YO gelding has really come on this synthetic season with two wins, and for Brunton and Pires scoring respective trebles at the last meeting before a return to grass could be a sign of things to come. Rubyranger ($4.40) ran on well from the back to get into second just a length from the winner with a further three lengths to Gaius Julius ($4.20) in third.
FORMPLUS Black Book
Mywordis – Returned with two solid placings this time in and the times/margins from Sunday suggest this could be a hot form race. Grass shouldn’t be a problem with his only win coming in Launceston.
Watch Runaway Girl win a benchmark 60 with Mywordis running into second.