This G1 2040m at WFA for all comers drew just a fair line up and most tellingly only had one male 4yo runner. The race has become a boilover event and older horses have dominated it for a while now with four of the last five runnings being won by a 7yo today, a 9yo last year and two 6yo’s. The win dividends of four of the last five winners have been $26 (today), $16 (last year), $52 (four years ago) and $30 (five years ago). Today the pace was nothing exceptional and the time was one of the slower gallops overall for the track rating. Just as the first leg of the Spring Triple Crown for G1 at WFA here at Hastings went to an older horse having a first ever G1 outing and at WFA in Close up, so did that pattern repeat here with the 7yo Wait A Sec. The gelding was a handicapper like Close Up (an 8yo which almost won the second leg it should be noted too) and got well back on the inner upon settling. The local had been in good handicap form prior but this was supposedly a serious step up as he took on two firsts at the same time, namely G1 at WFA. His rider elected to stay on the inside and hope when his mount looked flat across the top and unable to quicken but that saved ground paid dividends when a dream run through saw him reach fifth at the 200m having not spent a penny extra. The gelding drove through to lead at the 50m and score by a short head in 2:05.59 to record his eleventh win in forty-one starts and notably seven of them have come this year. Wait A Sec has been a very busy horse with today his fourteenth run for the year starting on late February. Gingernuts the hot favourite and only 4yo in the field ran home strongly but missed defeating a field he should have beaten easily if as good as his stable and connections think. He was ninth or tenth the outer and then wide across the top before being unleashed fully from eighth and centre track turning for home. The usual rapid ping was not there but he was coming home in a sustained manner and reached fourth at the 100m and then narrowly missed victory. His rider was fined for excessive use of the whip the run home so Gingernuts was being persuaded to give his all but came up a wafer short. Endean Rose at $78 a win ran a blinder for third after sitting handy the inner throughout and she fought hard to get her valuable as a broodmare G1 placing. Saint Emilion at $64 a win led up and was run over into fourth late losing third by a nostril while Mime sat fourth the outer and have event chance in finishing fifth. Authentic Paddy sat second the outer and was still there at the 200m before wilting to sixth beaten two and threequarter lengths Five of the first six home raced in or near the lead so Gingernuts effort gets some extra kudos and also coming down the middle or wider because even the winner of this cut the corner. Seventh to eleventh were beaten over three lengths to four and a half lengths with the efforts fair with Volkstok’n’barrell and Rock On running on a tad. Chance To Dance can be totally forgiven after being trapped wide in the open throughout sixth and to drop out and only be beaten nine and a half lengths was not too bad as he should have been beaten by a lot more. The handicappers Nymph Monte and Five To Midnight finished third last and last as WFA at G1 proved too much but they will be okay when back to a proper race condition. This was another strange result in this race and the field overall was weak and majority handicappers running at WFA. Obviously the only 4yo male Gingernuts has more ahead purely on age and Volkstok’n’barrell is still a WFA force in New Zealand. The race rating of this 2040m even has been deteriorating for a while now and it does not attract the best anymore and in face is now the weakest leg of the Triple Crown by far. Old horses winning and longshots are not helping the race perception plus unless more younger runners target the Triple Crown (as in 4yo’s) then the scope is not there and the depth much of a muchness.