This G3 Open Handicap 1600m drew a substantially far weaker field than last year and the result proved it with the equal topweight, a 9yo gelding in Nashville, winning easily on a holding bog track. Nashville many years ago was a quality galloper but the fact he can still shame the younger ones at Group level is more a reflection on them and the lack of depth in New Zealand across the board. The natural backrunner was third last mostly then unleashed the run home and picked up his rivals inside the final 100m before drawing clear to win by over two lengths and clock 1:44.84. It was the thirteenth win in sixty-five starts and he was ridden today by an apprentice in a G3 non-claiming race. He has won three races this year having won just once in 2016 (in January too so had not won for fourteen months up until March this year) and has not a single salute in 2015 so the opposition clearly are getting worse as he gets older. His two wins earlier this year came with 52.5kg and 51kg at Marlborough and Wairarapa with the same apprentice atop, so to carry 60kg today at G3 says it all about the opposition. In fact today is the highest weight he has won with 60kg as prior the most he has scored carrying was 59kg and being a now 9yo that tells you the opposition are getting weaker. The second and third finishers Doiknowyou and New York Minute trailed and led respectively and had every possible chance with both giving the winner 4.5kg. Platinum Command ran home strongly for fourth under a hard to comprehend 56.5kg as she was second in this race last year on the minimum of 53kg and had not won a race since but was up 3.5kg. Luke was an honest fifth in what was a big jump on paper as he won a Ratings 80 in June and that is supposedly a vast number of lengths inferior to G3 under Handicap conditions. Elfee was a wilting sixth but prior to today she had won a Ratings 75 so was jumping up here a colossal amount in theory though as shown earlier this was a very weak field with little or no depth whatsoever. Miss Three Stars, the winner last year, ran on from the back distantly, while the equal topweight Taurus, another 9yo it should be pointed out that has not won a race since June of 2016 for even more perspective, sat second and stopped. Stormy Habit, a two-won gelding at $101 clearly for all to see missed the start and was last away and tailed out across the top but ran past many to finish ninth and that alone shows this field was dreadful. The rest got beaten over a dozen lengths up to and including thirty-three and a half lengths on awful holding heavy gluey ground. It is always good to see the old warriors deliver but it in fact masks the lack of depth and asks the question where are the younger gallopers coming through? This was not a G3 field and barely Listed level with this race last year being substandard and this year it was dramatically inferior. Taurus carried 60kg last year in this to finish and has not won a race since June of 2016 yet the 9yo today had 60kg again and that in itself says plenty about the massive lack of depth in the field. Nashville the winner, also a 9yo, carried the highest winning weight in his career and it came at G3, which says it all regarding what he in fact met and easily bet today.