This G3 2100m under Open Handicap conditions saw the German bred 6yo mare Igraine both outstay and outclass her opposition. The track at Pukekohe copped some rain in the morning and was downgraded from a Dead5 to a Slow7 and it raced biased all day. The winners and where they turned for home in order were third and widest, fifth and second widest, third and wide, fourth and second widest, ninth inner (four lengths off lead…angled off at 400m), thirteen and widest (four and a half lengths off lead), led (five off fence), third (six-off the fence) then finally fourth and second widest. To say the insides lanes were no go areas and a surefire loser all day is an understatement and the times were two to three seconds and a lot more in some events inferior to standard. The track was very biased against leaders (none won all day) with a couple of thirds only to show for the pacesetters throughout the nine race card and this circuit is very flat so leaders can often pinch winning breaks. Igraine at her first race clockwise settled down fourth the outer in a great spot in a far from taxing run race and was moved up wide to lead turning for home with her only threat being the favourite Mongolian Marshall.. She repelled him at the 300m and then drew away at the 150m to score by just under three lengths in 2:16.20, a rather ordinary time indeed. It was her fifth win in twelve starts and her first blacktype success with the promise of more to come. On rain-affected footing she looks near unbeatable in handicap staying races in New Zealand as she showed today as well that racing close or handy was possible too so manmade track bias is never a worry now. Mongolian Marshall sat seventh the outer and moved up wide fifth across the top before striding into an ominous second turning for home. He looked to have the measure of Igraine at the 300m but she fought him off easily and pulled clear outstaying this 4yo gelding The wet ground clearly played more into her hands than his but there is still that niggling doubt about the absolute stamina of Mongolian Marshall, as in three runs at 2000m or more has finished second once, a fourth and an eighth. Until he runs over middle distance on decent footing a final judgement cannot be made as he has run home ping that can get him out of most precarious positions. Blue Breeze finishing third puts a dose of reality into the result as this three-win galloper that started third outsider in the field sat back and wide in the rear trio then came the deepest runner turning for home. He ran on well to be fifth at the 300m and third at the 200m, clearly loving the wet ground and was beaten just over three lengths at the line. Today was his fourth attempt at blacktype and after being outclassed at Listed level once and G3 twice, when distant each time, he finishes third today and that puts an asterisk on the result worth with that track condition presented being the over-arching spoiler. Kyrie Eleison, a three-win mare and the rank outsider, confirmed the race result is dubious and more due to the footing presented when she settled down eighth and kept running home to reach fourth at the 200m. She had been found out at Listed level in October with the 53kg, the same weight she had in this, so only three things changed today and that was racing clockwise and on wetter ground plus of course stronger opposition. Terra Sancta settled back but improved wide at the 600m and loomed up fifth turning for home and was third at the 300m before wilting the final 200m to finish fifth beaten just under seven and a half lengths. She was third up and not quite seasoned enough for the footing so she can be cut some slack. Megablast ran on from last and tactically would have been better sent forward, as he can well do and has shown before, looking at the result. Maygrove was back and wide throughout and came up deeper across the top but under 59kg the task was too tough. Five To Midnight was slow out and a clear last early before recovering to be tenth the inside but he was last again turning or home and under the topweight of 60kg struggled. He finished eighth beaten over thirteen lengths and best to paste this run away in the irrelevant box and not a true guide whatsoever. The rest were poor and beaten almost eighteen lengths and up to thirty-three lengths. Five of the nine races today at Pukekohe where won by non-New Zealand breds and significantly three of those five wins came in the blacktype events. Australian breds formed the quinella in the G2 fillies and mares event at 1400m, won the Listed juvenile event over 1100m and formed the quinella in an Open Handicap mile, while Germany provided this G2 2100m Cup winner and Ireland won a Benchmark 85 at 1400m. Over half the card were won by non-New Zealand breds and at a range of distances and age groups tellingly. Igraine on rain-affected footing is the real deal and Mongolian Marshall on better underfoot conditions will also win his share of blacktype events this season. However this result has a clear cloud of doubt by the number of in-form runners that flopped abysmally with a last start Listed winner and a last start G3 placed runner flopping big time and the track conditions and manmade bias are the culprits for sure. Also the fact that two or three lesser lights by a margin inferior to most of these field could finish third and fourth. They beat home comfortably several runners that had gapped then recently with an example Kyrie Eleison was ninth beaten five lengths at Listed level last month with 53kg and the winner of that race, also at 53kg, was Peso. Today we saw Kyrie Eleison beat home Peso by over thirteen lengths (an over eighteen length turnaround). He rose 2kg but that is not worth that big a daylight turnaround and also consider that Igraine ran fourth in this Listed race at 53kg too and gapped Peso today and Kyrie Eleison as well. Igraine turned around an over length defeat to beat Peso by almost nineteen lengths (twenty length turnaround) and beat Kyrie Eleison that day by just over three and a half lengths to almost double that today at the same weight. Expect to see some form reversals out of this raceday as the track presented was very manmade biased indeed and energy sapping for so many.