Yard to the Post | The Gong
Race Day: Kembla Grange on Saturday, 21 November 2020
The Hawkes-trained ARCHEDEMUS ($18) relished a return to his former home track today, taking out the $1 million The Gong from favourite DAWN PASSAGE ($5) in a thrilling finish. Waterhouse and Bott's DAWN PASSAGE loomed up 200 metres from home before getting out-fought late by ARCHEDEMUS, who was a 9.3 length winner the last time he visited the track back in 2018.
The easing of COVID restrictions enabled a large crowd to gather along the rail to cheer the runners home. Four races were won by the Waller stable and champion jockey James McDonald was able to guide four winners home too, including MO'S CROWN who sunk short-priced favourites PANDEMIC and BIG PARADE.
And there was a big presence on track that was neither human or equine, hundreds of seagulls riding the cool southerly breeze and diving down for scraps on the Kembla Grange lawn.
A full review of the races is provided below.
Track Info
| Rail | TRUE |
| Conditions | GOOD 4 |
| Weather | OVERCAST, southerly wind helping in straight |
| Bias | FAIR, slight preference near pace and not too wide on the turn |
Race 1 CANADIAN CLUB 3&4YO BENCHMARK 72 HANDICAP
strong tempo
Bias:
Fair
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bigboyroy | Chris Waller | James McDonald | 7 | 58.5 | |
| 2 | Air To Air | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Hugh Bowman | 2 | 56.5 | |
| 3 | Knight | Jason Attard & Lucy Keegan-Attard | Nash Rawiller | 3 | 56.5 |
Race 2 TAB HIGHWAY HANDICAP
fair tempo
Bias:
Fair
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | She's All In | Barbara Joseph, Paul & Matt Jones | Brock Ryan | 14 | 54.0 | |
| 2 | Diorissima | Jean Dubois | James Innes Jnr | 7 | 54.0 | |
| 3 | All Over Magic | Marc Quinn | Jason Collett | 2 | 55.5 |
Race 3 I98'S MARTY, CRAMMY AND LYNDAL BENCHMARK 78 HANDICAP
fair tempo
: long sprint
Bias:
Fair
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accountability | Aaron Purcell | James McDonald | 3 | 56.0 | |
| 2 | Relucent | Paul Shailer | Nash Rawiller | 17 | 57.0 | |
| 3 | Karmazone | Daniel Robinson | Ms Winona Costin | 11 | 52.0 |
Race 4 EVERGREEN TURF AUSTRALIA BENCHMARK 78 HANDICAP
strong tempo
Bias:
Fair
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hulk | Chris Waller | Tommy Berry | 5 | 56.0 | |
| 2 | Our Bellagio Miss | Robert & Luke Price | Brock Ryan | 10 | 52.0 | |
| 3 | Mansa Musa | Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou | Robbie Dolan | 7 | 58.5 |
Race 5 ABAX CONTRACTING CG&E BENCHMARK 78 HANDICAP
strong tempo
Bias:
Fair
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mo's Crown | Kris Lees | James McDonald | 5 | 58.5 | |
| 2 | Onslaught | Shawn Mathrick | Ms Rachel King | 3 | 59.0 | |
| 3 | Juventus | Kris Lees | Hugh Bowman | 8 | 58.5 |
In The Running
BIG PARADE came across and went hard at a STRONG tempo with MO'S CROWN moving up into 2nd. PANDEMIC stuck 3W NC near the pace.
The Result
MO'S CROWN (1st) fought on best for a strong win. A pack of horses behind, including ONSLAUGHT (2nd 1.8L), JUVENTUS (3rd 1.9L), PANDEMIC (4th 2.1L), GOLLY I'M LUCKY (5th 2.3L) and BIG PARADE (6th 2.5L).
The Interest
The market was dominated by BIG PARADE (went too hard, tired late) and PANDEMIC (stuck wide), both not running to their best leaving third favourite MO'S CROWN to take out the win with a tough effort. PANDEMIC perhaps the best run in the race though.
Race 6 TRAFFIC LOGISTICS F&M BENCHMARK 78 HANDICAP
fair tempo
Bias:
Fair
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stolen Jade | Clarry Conners | Jay Ford | 11 | 56.5 | |
| 2 | Turnstyle | Bjorn Baker | Tim Clark | 2 | 54.5 | |
| 3 | Macroura | Ciaron Maher | Jason Collett | 4 | 57.5 |
In The Running
INTEPIDACIOUS led at a FAIR tempo, just having to work a touch to get across. STOLEN JADE outside the leader and HELGA 3W NC. MACROURA and TURNSTYLE behind the leaders.`
The Result
STOLEN JADE (1st) fought on best from a very game TURNSTYLE (2nd 0.2L) and MACROURA (3rd 1.2L) with INTEPIDACIOUS (4th 1.4L) tiring late.
The Interest
STOLEN JADE back a bigger, stronger and faster galloper, making it three on the trot. TURNSYLE and MACROURA two of the more genuine gallopers going around, both fighting hard, while INTREPIDACIOUS just peaked the final 150m down the long straight. They ran 0,32 seconds slower than the BM 78 for colts/geldings off a steadier tempo.
Race 7 THE GONG
steady tempo
Bias:
Fair
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Archedemus | Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes | Jay Ford | 13 | 52.5 | |
| 2 | Dawn Passage | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Tim Clark | 1 | 56.5 | |
| 3 | Think It Over | Kerry Parker | Brenton Avdulla | 3 | 56.5 |
In The Running
POSITIVE PEACE and ARCHEDEMUS put a couple of lengths on the pack, but they managed to control a STEADY tempo mid-race.
The Result
ARCHEDEMUS (1st) kicked on best to win from DAWN PASSAGE (2nd 0.2L), who sprinted into it, but couldn't get past the leader late. THINK IT OVER (3rd 1.7L) fought on well after a wide run.
The Interest
ARCHEDEMUS found the right position and relished getting back to his home track, it was very surprising that the leaders got it easy up-front given it was a $1 million race and the last feature of the season. It looked like DAWN PASSAGE would go straight past him, but he was held the last 100m. Perhaps if Tim Clark kept the fav' closer to the leaders in the run, instead of jagging back to 4th and getting off the rails, it would have been a difference result. BRANDENBURG (6th running on) perhaps the run of the race out wider. OLEMDO (16th) pulled up lame.
Race 8 POLYTRACK BENCHMARK 88 HANDICAP
fair tempo
Bias:
Fair
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matowi | Mitchell Beer | James McDonald | 5 | 57.5 | |
| 2 | Elaborate | Michael Freedman | Nash Rawiller | 8 | 55.5 | |
| 3 | Betcha Flying | Chris Waller | Brock Ryan | 12 | 52.5 |
In The Running
ULUSABA led at a FAIR tempo with SPENCER working up on his outside. BERDIBECK missed the start badly (8L) and moved up into midfield.
The Result
MATOWI (1st) ran on best from the back to narrowly beat ELABORATE (2nd 0.2L) and BETCHA FLYING (3rd 0.4L). VEGAS JEWEL (4th 0.6L) not far off running on out wide.
The Interest
MATOWI got a nice trail into the race and James Mac coaxed him home for the win, a horse that can peak on his run. BETCHA FLYING (odd final 100m changing strides under apprentice ride) and VEGAS JEWEL (wide on turn) both very good, but the more experienced jockey got the job done. BERDIBEK (7th) worth forgiving after a very poor start.
Race 9 PFD FOOD SERVICES BENCHMARK 78 HANDICAP
fair tempo
Bias:
Fair
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monegal | Theresa Bateup | Brock Ryan | 6 | 56.5 | |
| 2 | Night Of Power | Bjorn Baker | James McDonald | 7 | 57.0 | |
| 3 | Greek Hero | Jason Deamer | Nash Rawiller | 2 | 56.0 |
In The Running
PEYTON PLACE led from SHOCK ALERT at a FAIR tempo.
The Result
NIGHT OF POWER (2nd 0.2L) and MONEGAL (1st) joined in together, both surging hard in an exciting finish. GREEK HERO (3rd 2.2L) charged home late too.
The Interest
The top three clearly the best runs, GREEK HERO simply too far back after a slow jump. MAIN STAGE (10th) kept on OK at the back and will be suited up in distance or on wet ground.