Puccini was way too good for his rivals today at G3 over a mile under handicap conditions after sitting second the outer to the home turn then striding clear. The natural leader/on pacer also had the right racing pattern for the track bias in play today at Awapuni where five of the eight flat race card in one turn events got rewarded by being on the speed and/or the inner. The only sprinter/miler race that saw the quinella come from the back was R8 and it was the fastest race of the day by far. It should be noted the on pacer Far Fetched in that event was third and the rider slaughtered it early plus went for home way too early so she should have in fact won the race. Puccini clocked 1:36.65 for the mile so it was not a pressure contest at any stage plus he got in amazingly at 54kg for a G1 winner so was a staggering 3.5kg under WFA. The weights in the race overall were most dumbfounding and therefore a totally untrustworthy event as G3 winners were on the minimum of 53kg (one mare that was a dual G3 winner was on the minimum) plus the winner (the G1 NZ Derby winner) was gifted the race at 54kg. Puccini would beat this lot no matter the race pace as at 54kg it was an invitation to score. The mile event for Ratings 75 that followed this was won in 1:37.73 so it was just over six lengths inferior for a several grades below comparison. The runner up to Thorn Prince was midfield the fence but kept improving to sixth near the home turn then worked off and got through fourth early the run home. The third finisher Marotiri Miss was in the trail on settling and moved out to lodge a bid the run home, The race leader Julinsky Prince finished fourth beaten four lengths. The one runner to come steaming home down the outer from the back was the mare Anniestar, a wet tracker, with her final 100m very strong. Her effort was super but it actually puts further doubt on the race result worth as a whole because she is a swimmer that has raced over winter. The fact is she has had seven runs on good or dead ground for one win and that came as a maiden at 1000m. Many runners today that settled back had no chance whatsoever so be wary when assessing the chances of several supposed flops from the race. Several sat very wide and working throughout too. Puccini will likely tackle the G1 WFA over 2040m here in a month then a decision will be made to go to the G1 Caulfield Cup or the G1 Cox Plate. Whether he is up to that class is not yet known and therefore debatable as he did get found out in Sydney as a 3yo badly albeit wet ground and at least one overconfident ride not helping matters. This stable also have not had anything go right when the few times they have ventured to Australia so a change of luck would be welcomed by the now father and son training yard. Puccini should blow away the field in three weeks time here for the G1 Livamol Classic (2040m) at 57.5kg under WFA or else getting on the plane for the Melbourne Spring Carnival would seem moot.