Yard to the Post | Silver Eagle Day
Race Day: Royal Randwick on Saturday, 08 October 2022
Heavy rainfall soaked the Royal Randwick turf in the lead-up to the meeting today and more bad weather during the afternoon left the Stewards with no choice but to postpone the remaining races after the Tapp-Craig Stakes (Race 6).
The Tapp-Craig Stakes itself was one of the stranger races you will see in Sydney on a Saturday. Stewards made the baffling call to allow racing to continue after Race 5 on the condition that jockeys would stay away from the deteriorating inside ground. Given the bias favoured horses that got the inside runs it was no surprise that the jockeys weren't that keen to get wide. Short-priced favourite OPAL RIDGE (photo above) ended up only two horses off the rails entering the straight before kicking clear to win.
Leaders on the rails won four of the other five races on the card with the other leader MAIN STAGE (Race 3) only beaten in a photo by NAVAJO PEAK.
A full review of the day is provided below.
Track Info
| Rail | +8m 1000m-W/Post; + 4m Remainder |
| Conditions | HEAVY 10 |
| Weather | SHOWERS |
| Bias | Very strong bias to LEADERS and RAILS IN RUN, staying nearer inside in straight |
Race 1 TAB HIGHWAY HANDICAP
fair tempo
Bias:
leader
,
rails-6w in straight
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Socrates | James Ponsonby | Dylan Gibbons | 21 | 56.0 | |
| 2 | King Of Spades | Danielle Seib | Tommy Berry | 5 | 56.0 | |
| 3 | Jalmari | Danny Williams | Ms Amy McLucas | 13 | 59.5 |
In The Yard
No major knocks or standouts. STELLA GLOW presenting more forward than expected. JALMARI quite settled, a tiny bit anxious as always. IF YOU THINK SO unsettled and on her toes. ALMAHERO a touch warm.
The Interest
After riding the wet Canterbury track perfectly midweek Dylan Gibbons carried on his form here. An aggressive ride early took SOCRATES to the front and he kept going on the testing ground, taking advantage of what turned out to be a strong on-pace bias. KING OF SPADES rock solid, but JALMARI was probably the run of the race, the apprentice jockey getting tangled up near the back before he charged late.
Race 2 MIDWAY HANDICAP
fair tempo
Bias:
leader
,
rails-6w in straight
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kote | Blake Ryan | Tommy Berry | 4 | 54.0 | |
| 2 | Holy Tycoon | Todd Howlett | Tom Sherry | 6 | 56.5 | |
| 3 | Either Oar | Ross McConville | Ms Rachel King | 8 | 55.0 |
In The Yard
MAYROSE well, a big tall rangy mare. Most others fine. KOTE a touch unsettled, but looking fine.
The Interest
KOTE got to the front, travelled well and was much too good for these. HOLY TYCOON handled the wet well again and EITHER OAR benefited from being up on-pace. MAYROSE couldn't pick up when they kicked off the turn and might be worth forgiving in a race with more tempo.
Race 3 CERRONE HANDICAP
fair tempo
Bias:
leader
,
rails-6w in straight
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Navajo Peak | David Payne | Kerrin McEvoy | 8 | 55.5 | |
| 2 | Main Stage | Ross McConville | Joshua Parr | 5 | 58.0 | |
| 3 | King Frankel | Annabel Neasham | Tyler Schiller | 6 | 56.0 |
In The Yard
No knocks in the yard. PINK IVORY nicely balanced with strength and athleticism, just a little bit on her toes. KING FRANKEL strutting around the yard looking quite well. KAAPFEVER and TRUE MARVEL both tough types improving into their prep.
The Interest
MAIN STAGE and NAJAVO PEAK got to the on-pace spots and that's the way it stayed, the latter fighting on well for a narrow win, KING FRANKEL probably just as good as the top two from one pair back. PINK IVORY had the bias against (like others) and had some vet issues when she pulled up too.
Race 4 POLYTRACK ROMAN CONSUL STAKES
fair tempo
Bias:
leader
,
rails-6w in straight
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Best Of Bordeaux | Kacy Fogden | Ben Melham | 6 | 56.5 | |
| 2 | Sweet Ride | David Pfieffer | Chad Schofield | 2 | 56.5 | |
| 3 | Willinga Beast | Kris Lees | Kerrin McEvoy | 4 | 54.5 |
In The Yard
WILLINGA BEAST looked very well in the yard. SELOUS not out of place in this field on looks, nice muscular type just a bit on his toes. BEST OF BORDEAUX fit and holding OK, a tough defined type.
The Interest
BEST OF BORDEAUX got to the lead and that was pretty much the end of the race. He's a tough rolling type that relished getting into that position and was too strong after the 1100m type SWEET RIDE loomed from the box seat. WILLINGA BEAST and NETTUNO (slowish to jump) could have been similar runs to the leader, but the bias was too strong to overcome.
Race 5 THE NIVISON
strong tempo
Bias:
leader
,
rails-6w in straight
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sky Command | Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou | Regan Bayliss | 7 | 54.0 | |
| 2 | Never Talk | Kris Lees | Jason Collett | 10 | 54.0 | |
| 3 | Heresy | James Cummings | Nash Rawiller | 12 | 56.5 |
In The Yard
EXPAT well, a thick-set muscular type, how will she enjoy the Randwick wet track given she has failed there before. Most of them looking well. PROMISE OF SUCCESS a touch of improvement to come and a bit warm. CHARLEISE not too bad too, 95% fit.
The Interest
An opportunistic G3 win for Regan Bayliss on SKY COMMAND. She had been a risk over 1200m before this race and that question probably remains after she rocketing along the 'travelator' on the inside and tired badly late, but still hung on. NEVER TALK and HERESY strong against the track bias, but the race tempo did suit. JAL LEI hit the rail 350m out and could have placed otherwise. PROMISE OF SUCCESS fine at the back given she wasn't asked much.
Race 6 THE AGENCY TAPP-CRAIG
strong tempo
Bias:
leader
,
rails-6w in straight
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Opal Ridge | Luke Pepper | Tyler Schiller | 1 | 53.0 | |
| 2 | Pericles | James Cummings | Glyn Schofield | 12 | 55.0 | |
| 3 | Dashing Legend | Joseph Pride | Jay Ford | 8 | 53.0 |
In The Yard
All well in the yard, DASHING LEGEND just a little warm and unsettled as she can be. PERICLES and BADGE look like the type of horses that could handle the conditions. HAWAII FIVE OH a more muscular type that may struggle.
The Interest
It's hard to fathom what the Stewards were thinking when they deciding to continue racing for this meeting on the condition that the jockeys would stay away from the deteriorating inside ground. With a very strong bias for horses that took those inside lanes it was always going to be tempting to stay close to the rail and OPAL RIDGE ended up only two horses wide after most jockeys held a spot in the three wide line. Tyler Schiller simply couldn't get any wider and the bias did the rest with OPAL RIDGE shooting through up the inside to win well. PERICLES perhaps the run of the race though chasing hard out wider, a well bred galloper that is worth following as he progresses this campaign.
Race 7 NEW TAB APP GLOAMING STAKES
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|
Race 8 SILVER EAGLE
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|
Race 9 FURPHY ANGST STAKES
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|
Race 10 KIA ORA FARNAN HANDICAP
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|