This G1 1600m at WFA and second leg of the Triple Crown saw a tight finish with a long head and half a head separating the first three over the line. The track today raced biased towards on pacers in the main with an incredible five races in a row seeing the winner come from either outsider the leader or in the trail at distances from 1400m to 2000m. Kawi, which had won the first leg of the Triple Crown comfortably, showed grit to win today after sitting fifth and wide in the open. The race tactics or tempo-map that rider Leith Innes used backfired soon after the start, so he and his manager may need to reassess assuming anything. Kawi only has a 25% win record at the mile prior to today so is no moral at the trip and when sent forward today from an awkward gate for some strange reason at what is a tricky mile start at Hastings, it turned to custard quickly. He had to sit fifth and wide in the open on settling but did come back underneath his rider and luckily the race was not run at a torrid clip as he would have been beaten for sure otherwise. Kawi got some slight relief across the top when the runner up Mime attacked three-wide way too early and that cost her the race for sure as it gave brief respite to the eventual winner. The odds on pop moved into striking distance at the 300m and reached second at the 200m but there was none of his customary surge as he hauled back Mime ever so gradually and under hard riding and got the lead with 10m to go. The winning time of 1:35.52 is nothing flash, so that section from the 600m to the home turn proved critical in the context of the finish as it determined out of Kawi and Mime what would win. Mime had a great sit the outer and the hotpot wide outside her but back a tad so held a winning hand for the race only to be let rip early and in fact help Kawi win the race so that was tactical blunder. The mare did not have to surge that early as Kawi was not able to stride up swiftly and snooker her before the home turn so she was never going to be held up or hemmed in. Instead of a long head defeat it should have been a narrow win at G1 against the older horses and all comers at WFA and that is breeding gold when on offer. Rasa Lila was huge for third after being crowded early and second last on settling down, as she unleashed a sustained surge to narrowly miss winning. The time of the race and obvious track bias in play makes her effort even more meritorious. Battle Time was a super fourth but nearly got declared a scratching due to a strange rule that is gladly a thing of the past as common sense must reign in horse racing. He barged open his gate a fraction early so by the letter of the law got an unfair advantage but ran a luckless fourth at G1 under WFA and deserved to keep that position. Battle Time was midfield the outer and surrounded turning for home seventh then got hampered critically at the 200m only to try and pick himself up again. He was still sixth at the 50m but drove through between runners and in effect attacked the line to nab fourth. El Pescado ran another sound race and has shown he is up to the highest grade in New Zealand plus he has a longer distance range than many and that should stand him in good stead this season. Julinsky Prince was super fresh up after settling down last and then improving deep across the top to home turn. The way he sustained the effort for sixth beaten just two lengths was commendable once you factor in track bias and that the race was not a torrid run affair either. Authentic Paddy and Our Vergara ended having their own little battle to the line with the former sitting outside her and the latter leading on settling. Both battled on okay once headed and were far from disgraced. Fanatic battled on not too badly after being crowded early and is slowly coming to hand with the mare holding a Caulfield Cup nomination still. Celebrity Miss was running on a tad after getting back and wide and is best when put in the race, so that may come in the last leg of the Triple Crown over 2040m. Bohemian Lilly was fair but is looking for middle distance already while Capella was ordinary so her path this season may alter now. Farm Boy was wide with cover and never ran on at all, so disappointed considering he was in the slipstream of Kawi but it does make the winning effort get more kudos. This gelding ran third to Kawi in the first leg of the Triple Crown to show the vagaries of racing and performance. The field this year was not strong at all and in fact sub-standard across the board so may not be a true indicator for many reasons and distances and track conditions. Kawi make no mistake had a gutbuster after pre-race tactics went out the window like a bad shank on the golf course. He will not be given a chance to become the first horse to win the Triple Crown with the 2040m final leg in two weeks being a bridge too far as the overland run today jaded him and bottomed him out a tad. No surprise the mares ran the placings as they are the true depth of New Zealand racing every season as the systems put in place and maintained are geared to help them. The winner of the last leg of the Triple Crown over 2040m in two weeks may not have even run in this field amazingly with Humidor and Hasselhoof two names that come to mind.