The gluggy footing at Ellerslie plus the rail out 10m makes both blacktype 3yo races dubious today for bias and form worth plus most importantly none the wiser still if better footing will help or hinder some or all of these. Wet track and gluey track form is more often than not meaningless once the tracks dry out and many of these will need cut in the ground minimum and some therefore until the autumn to reappear. The winner Volkstok’n’barrell gapped these the closing stages but may be a wet tracker only but also needing consideration is whether anything in the field he embarrassed would be a different prospect on better footing, so the form worth has a huge asterisk. Volkstok’n’barrell has size and a big stride but was urged along substantially before the home turn and this was not a pressure contest at any stage. The winning timer of 1:28.13 is a wet track time and you would need to go thirty lengths (five seconds) quicker at least to be in the frame on decent footing at Group level should that come at 1400m. A mile or more will be the ultimate aim for many of these and whether that is late spring (mile) or in the late summer/early autumn (2000m-2400m) is to be decided. The sire of the winner Tavistock also had the winner of the Listed event at Ellerslie today for fillies only too in Avisto and has looked a deadest wet weather sire so far with all enjoying cut in the ground or boggier. The time here was a staggering near nine lengths superior than the Listed fillies winner Avisto (1:29.59) for the 1400m, which must put a doubt on the form worth too as neither race saw any pressure whatsoever. A comparison for both races was the last event, a Ratings 75, won by the 4yo rain-affected tracker mare Moochi Me easily under 57kg in 1:27.28 (or five lengths faster than Volkstok’n’barrell a male 3yo at 56.5kg). Passing Shot had every chance and using a riderless horse as an excuse across the top for getting him fired up is stretching it a bit as more than likely it was by going so slow that some over-racing occurred. He was gapped late and better footing is only how he can be judged from now on because on slow or worse footing he will most unlikely never be beating Volkstok’n’barrell home. Volkstok’n’barrell has to show too he can cope on better footing otherwise a light preparation and then some backing off will be adopted to get too the G1 NZ Derby in early March next year. Twya was a very distant third and he won at Listed level leading into this at Wanganui but track bias and a non-pressure race that day showed his form was rightly dubious then. It proved such today but with this sort of manmade track bias (rail movements) and no pressure in these blacktype contests on a sludgy Ellerslie the form cannot be trusted as being surefire blacktype standard. Bazz was okay for the extra workload asked of but very distant as third to sixth home were between eight and a half and just over nine lengths from the first pair home. Scusa was the worst ridden runner tactically in the race by miles so forget he went around and just put it down to total jockey error and rank indecisiveness. Knight Court has size and scope but needs not such biased and gelatinous footing. The rest back on more reasonable footing we will see how they really have come up this spring and maybe back to a more realistic race would help too. Shanzou has to trial for stewards after an inglorious wheelie in the gates at the jump and losing the rider moments later. His presence in the race with a rider may have altered the overall time rather than being the pest as he was across the top to the home turn in a strangely run and sedate G3 race.