This G2 Open over 2000m under set weights and penalties had some hard to explain imposts for many runners when it comes to not confusing bettors, the customer and lifeblood of the sport. The pace was solid enough throughout thanks to Woodsman (eventual third finisher) not allowing many if any breathers and then really applying the blowtorch near the home turn. Sampson would come with a strong finish to win this by half a length in 2:06.51 and record his ninth success from thirty-seven starts. The 7yo gelding had won a G3 race under these conditions earlier this year in January under 55kg so the extra 1kg today was not a hardship at all. He was once a natural leader but three of his last four wins have come from sitting quietly midfield or worse and the other victory came from the trail. After settling down today ninth between runners the solidly built gelding hence the name improved through near the home turn and then unleashed under a hard continuous ride to get up in the final 25m. Five To Midnight came with the winner the closing stages but never quite got to the lead at any stage and was in fact second turning for home too, He had been ridden fifth the inner not spending a penny and worked off and got into third across the top then was a distant second at the 400m. The 4yo had every conceivable chance to win but has it all ahead still though with just two wins this season so far and two last season he is just a four-race winner from twenty-one starts and is better than that modest strike rate indicates. Woodman made the race a draining contest with his front running style and almost stole it but was tying up 50m out and got collared the final 25m. Maygrove the topweight in the race strangely ran on well for fourth after getting much further back than normal plus he got held up near the home turn. Pacorus was okay after sitting third but got beaten five lengths so is in almost limbo at the moment after four runs in this campaign and he maybe should have gone to Australia earlier for the weekly wet footing. He is still a possibility to end up in the Chris Waller yard and chase far superior stakemoney in Sydney and over the Queensland Winter Carnival. Scapolo for his record and the fact he only had to carry 56.5kg (his rider was half a kilo overweight too) was a running on okay for sixth but should have done more. Savaria sat last on her own and was plugging closer at the finish but she would have preferred not as tricky a presented track. El Pistola after a last start second in the G1 Auckland Cup was poor and hung out for a lot of the race plus was later found to have muscle soreness over her hamstrings. Blizzard was ordinary and then the gap back Iamishwara was huge and he was once a G1 winner that may end up a jumper if he continues to show no form this time in. King Kamada was dreadful in finishing a distant last and was poor in his prior outing too in the G1 Auckland Cup. He has not won a race since January 2014. Two of the better performed runners in this event were scratched to weaken the contest but it still had enough depth albeit many runners out of form. A lot of these runners are Cups types at home and handicappers as a rule so clearly the awful footing today had a bigger bearing on the result once combined with it being run at a solid clip overall. Set weights and penalties events are not helping many races hold their Group or Listed status in New Zealand and do mask a massive lack of genuine WFA depth with so many older horses always involved.