This Listed Open Handicap Over 1000m saw the Australian bred Sensei surge home from eighth in a fast run race and win easily to totally outclass his opposition. The entire won by four lengths and clocked 55 seconds (the track record is 54.20 set in 2006 by Ticklish), so forget the time as being realistic as they simply are not here nor Trentham that also has a similar dog leg and chute for sprint races. Never ever use the times as any guide whatsoever here and at Trentham in races at 800m and up to 1200m as the times are faster than anywhere else in the world at these venues and by horses that are almost nothing of any note and especially once outside New Zealand. Just today at this very meeting, in the race before this, an 1100m event for Benchmark 72 (three or four grades below Open Class) was run and won in 1:00.64 by a 3yo filly called Woodcote Lass after sitting and wide and she has not won a race since. The fact that time was allowed and validated as a track and National record says it all and is in fact all you need to know for grains of salt being taken. The winners and where they turned for home in race order were fourth (on fence a length and a half from the leader), third (five-off the inside and a neck from the leader), fifth (one-off the inside and length and a half from the leader), fifth (five-off the inside and two and a half lengths from the leader), eighth (three-off the inside and two and a half lengths from the leader), fifth (on fence and four lengths from the leader), fifth (three-off the inside and two lengths from the leader), seventh (one-off the inside and two and a half lengths from the leader), third (three-off the inside and a head from the leader) and second (one-off the inside and half a length from the leader. Sensei was fresh up today since being outclassed in Australia in the G1 Oakleigh Plate, when seventeenth and beaten almost nine lengths in a 1:01.94 won and run race. Look again at the time afforded a 3yo filly in a lowly Benchmark 72 race before this and see it ran 1.3 seconds (nine lengths) faster than that G1 race in Melbourne for another chuckle. The entire Sensei was winning his sixth race from nineteen starts and today amazingly was his first win at Riccarton. He has not won a race since this fresh up victory. The distant runner up Sheezallmine carried 53kg (5kg less than the winner) and sat outside the leader before taking over 400m out only to be given windburn at the 150m. Pippi Rea fresh up sat wide and kept coming for third but unfortunately in nine runs since she has failed badly eight times and run second once. Killarney was not too bad at all for fourth while Signify (a G1 winner), was fifth after a tardy start and a tad disappointing. Wekaforce, normally a leader, bounded in the air at the start before recovering to sixth then reached third at the 100m before being swamped the closing stages. The 4yo mare since has had four starts for two wins and two seconds and led up each time plus her latest outing came at Listed grade when beaten a nose. The rest today got beaten five lengths or more and up to eleven lengths. The quinella today was the same four days later at this same venue at G3 but in reverse order and Sensei was 3kg better situated then, which should totally stump form analysts that look for weight specials.