The Listed 3yo event over 1500m saw an upset winner lead all the way and the runner up was second or third the outer on settling. Alamer at $60 caused a boilover on a very off damp Ellerslie track that seems to get more bamboozling by every drop of rain on it these days. The filly had not been too bad at her prior two outings so did not deserve to paying as much but still in this line up should having been paying half her price. It was her second win in seven starts and her first blacktype result with rain affected footing clearly a big plus for the filly. She won by almost a length in 1:31.90 for the 1500m to beat Dukedom, also enjoying the rain-affected track conditions. Sultan Of Swing was wide handy and fought on gamely for third while his stablemate Valley Girl was the eyecatcher for fourth. She was well back and wide but came up the deepest runner turning for home and sustained her finish to suggest she has a future. Ruby Armani had every chance trailing the leaders while What’s The Story got going again late after hitting a flat patch like many near the home turn and early in the run home. Thunder Down Under plugged on the inside from well back and deserves another chance. Coldplay had excuses so can be played again when on less testing footing in regards to being gluggy and multi-textured today therefore unhelpful. Mahalo was not too bad either all things considered and can like a few in this be backed next start if on a fairer track surface. The rest were poor but you have to put a line through this race and result overall as the footing was terrible at Ellerslie and too many runners had legitimate excuses otherwise too. Sultan Of Swing, Valley Girl, What’s The Story, Thunder Down Under, Coldplay and Mahalo are six that could easily win next time seen out in different track conditions for example.
Previous Winners
| Date | Horse | Jockey | WT | Trainer | BP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
TAVY
(NZ)
3F TAVISTOCK (NZ) - THE CAT'S WHISKERS (NZ) TALE OF THE CAT (USA) |
V A COLGAN | 55.5 | R JAMES | 4 |
|
|
RISING ROMANCE
(NZ)
3F EKRAAR (USA) - POST ROMANCE (NZ) POSTPONED (USA) |
M T COLEMAN | 55.5 | DONNA & DEAN LOGAN | 8 |
|
|
OCEAN PARK
(NZ)
3C THORN PARK (AUS) - SAYYIDA (NZ) ZABEEL (NZ) |
C K ORMSBY | 57.5 | G HENNESSY | 9 |
|
|
RAFFLES KNIGHT
(AUS)
3G ENCOSTA DE LAGO (AUS) - LADY CIRCLES (AUS) ASCOT KNIGHT (CAN) |
L G INNES | 56.0 | STEPHEN MCKEE | 2 |
|
|
WALK IN THE PARK
(NZ)
3F THORN PARK (AUS) - SPRITZA (NZ) GROSVENOR (NZ) |
S C SPRATT | 56.0 | ANDREW SCOTT | 7 |
