The Good
Storm Boy, another gold strike for sire Justify, was awesome on Saturday when spring really started to blossom but is he the best horse to follow?
Justify, the United States based American stallion, has also produced City of Troy, winner of English Derby, and regarded by the Irish training genius, Aiden O’Brien, as the best horse he has prepared which covers an abundance of topliners.
Considering his San Domenico Stakes triumph at Rosehill Gardens, Storm Boy is built more on sprint lines and looked, in appearance and ability, a colt of superior breed to those he outclassed.
However down south Growing Empire was also impressive in Caulfield’s McNeil Stakes, Group three status like the San Domenico.
Growing Empire was having only his fourth start compared to Storm Boy’s seven. Dan O’Sullivan, featuring on Racing.com, gave Storm Boy a 102-rating compared to 100 for Growing Empire but commented: “Mark Zahra was easing the Zoustar colt up 60 metres before the line so the official margin, 1.2 lengths, understates his ability.”
Scope for improvement, too, is a factor. Sure, Storm Boy will get better if the stallion in him can be contained. Tulloch Lodge had him primed for a bold first up effort with his stud potential a factor. After all, Storm Boy has a Coolmore, the worldwide thoroughbred conglomerate, connection like City Of Troy and Justify, who stands for service fee of $200,000.
Storm Boy, with Adam Hyeronimus aboard following a regrettable absence, jumped a tad sluggish on Saturday but was roused into a rhythm that couldn’t be matched. The jockey dropped whip around 300 metres out but it wasn’t required.
Perhaps the filly Autumn Glow rated below the three-year-old colts but hardly looked near her peak in the Up And Coming at Rosehill, hitting the finish like a good’un which also applied to Ceolwulf in the Bankstown Sports, despite common opposition.
O’Sullivan rated Ceolwulf 99 behind Pinstriped (102.8) and Mr Brightside (102) in the Group one Memsie at Caulfield. No doubt Mr Brightside, one of Australia’s best, will progress as he was resuming but without the scope of Ceolwulf who raised eyebrows with his acceleration over 1500 metres.
Take your pick? I’m with Ceolwulf.
The Bad
Bad or worse is an apt description of Up And Under, a $4.6 chance in the Cabra Vale at Rosehill, who ended a distant last.
Up And Action lost his action so badly prior to the 300 metres jockey James McDonald pulled him up. A subsequent vet check failed to discover any “significant abnormalities”.
Anyway, JMac didn’t plead the surface was too hard for the French bred, his explanation for Gatby’s after the colt was donkey licked by Storm Boy.
Gatsby’s did not stretch out as expected because the ground was firmer than the soft on which he had previously scored, according to JMac. Once in our sunburned country this bleat would have been received with derision. Sure, horses didn’t handle the wet but too hard under hoof was always a European excuse.
More disappointing possibly than bad Pride Of Jenni produced “an imperfect blood picture” following her unplaced effort in the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday. She was hardly the speed ball of last season and was a spent force on the turn. Yes, the ill wind that raged didn’t help but while easing in the betting Pride Of Jenni started at $3 so was expected to do better.
Maybe it was anticipating too much of a seven-year-old mare, first-up over an unsuitably 1400 metres. Still Pride Of Jenni has acted well over the course and distance previously.
Subsequently trainer Ciaron Maher diagnosed a minor virus which he doesn’t expect to a problem in her future campaign.
Next start, though, is a wait-and-see if she returns to something like her best more than punting support.
The Ugly
Key Roosters Sam Walker and Brandon Smith being assisted off the field in the Canberra Raiders clash last Sunday was indeed an eyesore with knee injuries highlighting the brutality of the modern game.
Rugby League has always been a contact sport where no body sector is sacred but being so fast and furious currently make it more demanding than ever.
“Six again” tackles, or set restarts, has added to the injury toll by maintaining a breakneck, or ankle or knee tempo.
Incidentally I was held to ridicule for lionising the superb tackling style of South Sydney great and immortal Ron Coote here last week.
Critics reckon Coote only made around eight tackles a match because he was coming across in cover defence, maintaining he should have been in the front line doing 40.
Coote’s eight were memorable.
Cameron Murray, the present Rabbit lock, usually does no less than a workhorse 40. The odd one might stray a tad high.
Hopefully, in another half century, old timers can recall them like Coote’s classics. Statistics win games but memories last for ever.
