The track
The track raced as a good 4 throughout the program despite some showers which may have played a part in a slightly deteriorating surface for the last few races. The rail was out 12m so it wasn’t too surprising to see a few leaders (three of nine) win, and with the exception of Gee Gee True Story, the majority of winners were in the first couple on the home turn.
The winners
1000m
Race 2 (Maiden) – Kuroset 59.86
1200m
Race 5 (Open Hcp) – Ruettiger & Gee Gee True Story 1.11.01R
Race 8 (Class 1) – Dark Wanderer 1.11.46
Race 9 (0-60 Hcp) – Mr Tindall 1.12.58
Race 3 (Maiden) – Stelladoni 1.12.67
1400m
Race 1 (Class 3) – The Last Godfather 1.27.26
Race 7 (0-60 Hcp) – Born Magic 1.27.95
1600m
Race 4 (Benchmark 84) – Banstead 1.40.15R
2100m
Race 6 (Benchmark 66) – My Kingdom 2.20.49
Race summaries
Race 1: Punters were on the back foot early in the program with the hot favourite Sanction King ($1.45F) running third and the win going to The Last Godfather ($9.00). The 6YO gelding was well placed by the Julie Richards stable who found a very thin class 3 despite entering the race as class 1 eligible. He looked the winner well before the home turn with the favourite struggling and the second elect Give Us A Winner ($3.70) struggling to pinch a break and perhaps unsuited dropping back in distance. The overall time being quicker than the 0-60 later in the day bodes well for the winner given that’s the type of race he will progress to, while the favourite was simply disappointing on face value.
Race 2: Kuroset ($2.70F) turned things around for favourite punters despite racing wide without cover for the entirety of the race. David Pires had no luck from a wide draw but kept the horse rolling and lifted it over the line late. Love Notes ($17.00) was on debut for Sarah Cotton and ran a good on-speed race for second ahead of another first starter in Society Bill ($6.00) who had the fastest last 600m sectionals in the race.
Stelladoni (Siggy Carr) wins on debut in Hobart on 29 March.
Race 3: It was a sign of things to come when Scott Brunton brought up his second win of the day, but not the one punters were expecting when first starter Stelladoni ($5.50) defeated her more fancied stablemate Shampz Again ($1.75F). The 4YO mare was a different horse to the one seen at the trials, pinging straight to the front for Siggy Carr and never really giving anything else a look in. Shampz Again was under pressure before the home turn and might be a horse looking for more ground, with third going to the consistent Heavens Heartbreak ($5.00) and a decent gap to the rest.
Race 4: Banstead ($4.60) continued his ascent through the Tasmanian ranks with his fourth successive win. The leaders went hard in front setting up a record time for the new track and Banstead sat third without a cart up to that leading pair. His last 600m was the fastest of the race and you would expect his rating will get a reasonable increase from the 67 it was entering the race. Having been softened up on-speed, Secrets She Has ($13.00) was very brave running second only half a length from the winner. Zatacla ($2.40F) was solid enough in third but has now won just two from 26 on good rated tracks which is something for punters to consider when looking at a short price.
Race 5: The best finish of the day resulted in a dead heat between the two fancied runners Ruettiger ($4.00) and Gee Gee True Story ($3.20F). The latter came from the rear of the field with the fastest last 600m of the meeting to grab the two who led the field up with Apriano ($8.00) beaten a short half head into third. It was Ruettiger’s third win in just five starts for the Brunton stable and while he will now be a tough horse to place with his rating, he has certainly been a good addition.
Race 6: My Kingdom ($21.00) injected plenty of early value into the quaddie with his second consecutive win. Credit to the ride of Ismail Toker who pushed forward to land on-speed in a race that was nothing more than a jog in front. With the slow pace Daniel Ganderton aboard Gee Gee Caughtya ($13.00) whipped around the field early and that tactic almost worked with the horse sticking on for second ahead of the fast finishing Malmas ($8.00). The overall time was over 6.5 seconds slower than the maiden/class 1 win of Nero Veloce over the same trip on Hobart Cup Day, and Malmas ran home with the second fastest last 400m of the entire meeting. This certainly wasn’t a staying test and some of the beaten runs can be forgiven next start.
Race 7: Born Magic ($7.00) gave Scott Brunton his fifth winner of the day with a front running ride from Georgie Catania. Well backed in Launceston last start when she ran second, it was the opposite for the 7YO mare who was a big drfiter from $4.50 despite being the only logical speed in the race. Catania had an unassailable break turning for home to defeat the two at the head of the market in Coronation Pia ($2.90F) who was smashed late but again settled too far back and Le Monde De Lucas ($3.90) who blew the start and ultimately his chances with the way the race was run.
Race 8: The market despised Dark Wanderer ($3.90) late but the horse made a mockery of the late drift to stamp himself as a smart horse in the making. Drifting from $2.60 in the last five minutes of betting, Siggy Carr pushed straight to the front aboard the 4YO and as she so often does, she proved impossible to run down. The overall time was less than three lengths slower than the open class 1200m earlier in the day which suggests Dark Wanderer may progress through the grades in a similar way to White Cliffs recently. Subtle Cross ($31.00) was the outsider of the field but ran home powerfully with the fastest last 600m of the race to run second and may be suited at 1400m next start, while the well supported Gee Gee Ladybird ($4.40) was travelling well until the home turn but had nothing when asked for the effort and faded to finish over 11 lengths from the winner.
Race 9: After missing in the previous race, the market got it spot on in the last when Mr Tindall ($2.70) was heavily supported and arrived in the nick of time. It was another good ride from the rapidly improving apprentice Ianish Luximon who took off at the right time, knew he had a fit horse, and just grabbed the leader Little River Boy ($19.00) in the shadows of the post. Since winning his first Tasmanian race, Luximon has won a further five races from 21 rides, a strike rate that would match the best in the state.
Watch the replay of the dead heat finish in race 5 on Sunday.