Yard to the Post | Epsom Day
Race Day: Royal Randwick on Saturday, 01 October 2022
A thrilling Group One Epsom finish ended in a dead-heat today at Royal Randwick after ELLSBERG, TOP RANKED and HINGED engaged in a three horse war down the length of the straight. Annabel Neasham's classy import TOP RANKED was moving into the race like the winner with a furlong to go, but the wet trackers ELLSBERG and HINGED wouldn't lie down. Chris Waller's four-year-old mare HINGED went down bravely by just 0.3 of a length as the two bigger geldings locked horns right to the line.
Waller's filly ZOUGOTCHA was more dominant in the first Group One of the day, surging clear of SHE'S EXTREME, NORTH STAR LASS and the disappointing FIREBURN to make it three wins from three starts this campaign.
In the other Group One (2,400 metre Metropolitan) the stayers trotted along at a very slow tempo before Chris Waller's NO COMPROMISE dashed home best. There were lots of forgive runs to take note of as these longer distance types warm up for the Cups races in Melbourne.
A full review is provided below.
Track Info
| Rail | +3 metres |
| Conditions | HEAVY 8 |
| Weather | OVERCAST |
| Bias | A touch OFF RAILS (2W+) |
Race 1 ARROWFIELD BREEDERS' PLATE
strong tempo
Bias:
2w+
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Empire Of Japan | Peter & Paul Snowden | James McDonald | 8 | 56.0 | |
| 2 | Mach Ten | Michael Freedman | Tommy Berry | 2 | 56.0 | |
| 3 | Physical Graffiti | John O'Shea & Tom Charlton | Brenton Avdulla | 6 | 56.0 |
The Interest
The top two were the best performances of the colts on debut. EMPIRE OF JAPAN stormed home off the testing tempo set by a keen-going MACH TEN, who hung on for 2nd despite racing a touch greenly (drifted across the track late). MAKE A CALL hit the line late after getting out sped into the straight. He's a son of a Dubawi mare that won up to 2000m to he could be one to watch over the longer distance 2YO races later in the season.
Race 2 KEENELAND GIMCRACK STAKES
strong tempo
Bias:
2w+
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Platinum Jubilee | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Regan Bayliss | 10 | 56.0 | |
| 2 | Perfect Proposal | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Tim Clark | 9 | 56.0 | |
| 3 | Divine Glory | Peter & Paul Snowden | Kerrin McEvoy | 5 | 56.0 |
The Interest
Waterhouse and Bott brought some smart fillies to this race and they all performed well. At the 300m it looked like SICILIAN was going to win after she loomed up from outside leader PERFECT PROPOSAL, but she took an awkward stride 175m out and her run ended late as she seemed to lose her action a touch (vet: 2/5 lame and poor recovery). After a slow jump PLATINUM JUBILEE looked like she was out of contention on the turn before her finishing strength kicked in. Her final 200m of 12.08 seconds was the fastest in the race by 0.63 seconds and 0.40 seconds faster than the colt EMPIRE OF JAPAN from Race 1. DIVINE GLORY and ACHYLS were both game to the line too.
Race 3 SCHWEPPES HANDICAP
slow tempo
Bias:
2w+
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hosier | Mark Minervini | Dylan Gibbons | 10 | 61.0 | |
| 2 | Casino Kid | Todd Howlett | Sam Clipperton | 7 | 56.5 | |
| 3 | O'mudgee | Bjorn Baker | Tyler Schiller | 1 | 54.5 |
The Interest
HOSIER has a great winning strike-rate and this race set up perfectly for him. No pressure left him in-front controlling a SLOW tempo and his acceleration overcame the challengers quickly at the top of the straight. CASINO KID is so genuine and he ran well again here. TAMERLANE didn't look happy settling/sprinting off the SLOW tempo and might be worth forgiving.
Race 4 FUJITSU GENERAL HILL STAKES
strong tempo
Bias:
2w+
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cascadian | James Cummings | James McDonald | 8 | 59.0 | |
| 2 | Numerian | Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald | Tommy Berry | 3 | 59.0 | |
| 3 | Montefilia | Chris Waller | Jason Collett | 5 | 57.0 |
The Interest
KISS THE BRIDE set a testing tempo and it proved too much for MONTEFILIA second-up on wet ground. CASCADIAN looked sharp in the yard, trialed the favourite and broke clear over the final 200m as the others tired.
Race 5 DRINKWISE DULCIFY STAKES
fair tempo
: long sprint
Bias:
2w+
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williamsburg | Brett Cavanough | Kerrin McEvoy | 14 | 56.5 | |
| 2 | Communist | Michael Freedman | James McDonald | 10 | 56.5 | |
| 3 | Stroke Of Luck | John O'Shea & Tom Charlton | Reece Jones | 13 | 56.5 |
The Interest
An aggressive ride from Sam Clipperton on ATMOSPHERE in the lead, which set things up perfectly for the backmarkers. WILLIAMSBURG, CUMMUNIST and STROKE OF LUCK (off heel 250m) all strong running on late. STROKE OF LUCK is bred on the successful Fastnet Rock x Galileo cross and could be one to watch for the future. You can excuses ATMOSPHERE leading them up and perhaps CONQUEROR was a forgive run too after Pike made a long run from the 700m and he got tightened in the straight.
Race 6 DARLEY FLIGHT STAKES
fair tempo
: long sprint
Bias:
2w+
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zougotcha | Chris Waller | James McDonald | 2 | 56.0 | |
| 2 | She's Extreme | Anthony Cummings | Tommy Berry | 5 | 56.0 | |
| 3 | North Star Lass | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Tim Clark | 8 | 56.0 |
The Interest
NORTH STAR LASS and PAVITRA made this a test out in the lead and only the toughest fillies were left standing. Waller's star ZOUGOTCHA simply too strong for a brave SHE'S EXTREME and gallant NORTH STAR LASS. FIREBURN was pushed along on the turn and she didn't seem to be able to sustain the long sprint home over the mile.
Race 7 BISLEY WORKWEAR PREMIERE STAKES
strong tempo
Bias:
2w+
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lost And Running | John O'Shea & Tom Charlton | Hugh Bowman | 3 | 58.5 | |
| 2 | Mazu | Joseph Pride | Sam Clipperton | 1 | 58.5 | |
| 3 | Masked Crusader | Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes | William Pike | 12 | 58.5 |
The Interest
Either LOST AND RUNNING didn't love the track conditions, he is lacking a bit of fitness or he is simply not much better than these. The way he loomed up and hit the lead 200m you would have sworn he was going to run away with it, but he only scrambled home in the end from a bunched finish. MASKED CRUSDER better, KEMENTARI enjoyed the wet and MAZU honest as always.
Race 8 TAB EPSOM
fair tempo
Bias:
2w+
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Top Ranked | Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald | Hugh Bowman | 4 | 56.5 | |
| 1 | Ellsberg | Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou | Brenton Avdulla | 3 | 56.0 | |
| 3 | Hinged | Chris Waller | Kerrin McEvoy | 9 | 51.5 |
The Interest
Three big performances and an exciting finish. ELLSBERG relishes these conditions and he surged hard to the line with the classy TOP RANKED looming up wider out. In the end the judge couldn't split them and brave filly HINGED wouldn't go away in 3rd, only beaten 0.34L on the line. The time, gap to 4th and quality of the horses chasing suggest this wasn't such a bad Epsom after all.
Race 9 FURPHY METROPOLITAN
slow tempo
: long sprint
Bias:
2w+
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No Compromise | Chris Waller | Tommy Berry | 5 | 53.5 | |
| 2 | Le Don De Vie | Ciaron Maher | James McDonald | 3 | 56.0 | |
| 3 | Realm Of Flowers | Anthony & Sam Freedman | Reece Jones | 10 | 51.0 |
The Interest
They trotted along upfront in this staying event until Andrew Adkins finally showed some initiative and moved up with CARIF 600m. The sprint was on then and boy did they dash home with NO COMPROMISE showing the best turn-of-foot (as he often does in these staying races). No love lost for LE DON DE VIE, REALM OF FLOWERS (wide), STOCKMAN, DURSTON (wanted dry), ARAPAHO (too far back) and even MANKAYAN, who was way too far back and wound up OK late.
Race 10 CLEANAWAY HANDICAP
steady tempo
Bias:
2w+
| Place | Silk | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Gate | Kgs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Remarque | Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes | Hugh Bowman | 6 | 59.0 | |
| 2 | Bacchanalia | Richard Litt | James McDonald | 5 | 55.0 | |
| 3 | Soldier of Love | Kelvin Bourke | Tommy Berry | 10 | 59.0 |
The Interest
Both favourites had nice runs near the pace with REMARQUE proving too classy as they sprinted home off the STEADY tempo, a race speed that probably suited his style and the big weight he had to carry. COAL CRUSHER a forgive after he was keen/outsprinted up near the slower speed. CLIFF'S ART, STEELY and RUSTIC STEEL all rock solid and ready for 1400m+ now. MANA NUI looked to be coming again late and could be finding some form.