This race should not have been run as the Otaki track was already appallingly heavy and the surface water pooling blatantly for all to see due to a heavy downpour prior. The fact it was a Listed 1200m juvenile race unfortunately held sway so no surprise straight after this absurd water splashing contest the meeting was abandoned by stewards. A staggeringly untrustworthy result as most riders were hanging on to their mounts just to stay safe and aboard as unable to see properly with colossal splash-back in particular across the top making the race a farce. The winner Manhattan Rain, an Australian bred colt, led and swam clear to remain unbeaten and both horse and rider had perfect vision ahead and zero splash-back. He won by six and a half lengths and clocked 1:20.34 for the 1200m. To give some perspective the first and second races were run in 1:17.90 and 1:17.01 (or fifteen lengths and twenty lengths superior). The runner that sat outside the winner in Cortado unsurprisingly finished second albeit distant at the line as he was the only other runner that had some vision for both rider and horse. Impulsive Habit ran a sound third albeit beaten eight and a half lengths as the gelding over-reacted early in the race when third the outer and lost his spot. He ended up fifth wide but that strangely may have helped him and he swam into third at the 200m. Fourth home was the only runner to find the line with any purpose in Mongolian Wolf after being tardy and hampered to settle down last. He recovered to seventh quickly but was flat to the floorboards across the top and floundering in the footing like many others. The Australian bred however got going well but too late the final 50m. Bruce Arthur trailed the leaders fourth on settling and reached third turning for home only to be paddling the final stages. The rest never ever looked a possibility from the outset once settling back in conditions a motor rally may not have been run in bar Sophia Magia that was third last and wide away. She then got sped up wide and into third at the 800m and was fourth turning for home but stopped badly to finish last. The winner may be okay and in fact the first five may have more to offer next season but this result cannot be trusted as it was not really a race with safety and visibility worrying both rider and horse for anything settling midfield or worse at least. The asterisk of dubious relevance is applied as the race simply, should not have been run with so many big pools of water on the track. Drive your vehicle when big pools of water are on the road ahead and you know steering and handling is dangerous and then consider you have a windshield at least to stop the splash-back unlike jockeys. Enough said.