This G3 under set weights and penalties saw some runners absolutely thrown so no surprise that the quinella of Sampson and Authentic Paddy were both in remarkably well. Sampson blew them away the closing stages top win by a length and a half in 2:09.02 after sitting fourth or fifth the outer in a great spot. The 7yo gelding had the luxury weight of 55kg, which is incredible considering at this meeting a year ago he ran third in the G2 Wellington Cup at 56kg. Just last month when resuming in a G3 Open Handicap he finished fourth under 60kg so was fair dinkum pitch-forked into this under the conditions. The 7yo gelding was winning his eighth race in thirty-four starts and his first at Group level. He is known for leading and applying stamina pressure but has shown now he can take a sit and surge the closing stages. Authentic Paddy led up and was left alone to his own devices in the main and at 56kg looked a weight special after his two previous outings had resulted in G1 placings under WFA at 59kg. The durable 7yo has four G1 placings in his record from 1600m to 2000m so at this gift of 56kg was always going to make his rivals earn it. Promise To Reign is a 4yo mare and just a one-race winner so looked badly situated here but in fact was well suited too and after trailing the leaders she fought well for third and only just missed nabbing second. The mare carried 53kg the minimum today but had finished fifth in her prior start at G1 under WFA carrying 56.5kg beaten just two lengths, the race that Authentic Paddy has finished third in. Today showed the mare can be put closer to the action and surge, as she had been a backrunner for so long, so it adds another string to her bow. Cruiser ran a sound fourth after sitting second outside the leader then taking cover midrace before moving up third wide across the top. His run may have been made a tad early due to over-confidence as he wilted the final 100m and could have waited to move for at least double that distance before the home turn. Interestingly his rider Jonathan Parkes had been a regular pilot for Sampson for quite a while including being atop him for the third in the G2 Wellington Cup last year, so a poor decision was made somewhere it seems. Savaria ran home well from the back and keeps tempting bettors into including her one more time but she has not won a race since Boxing Day of 2015. Revelator was a rugged sixth after being wide and working for the first half of the race before going up second 1000m from home. Bloodstream, that was dreadfully weighted in this at 55kg, when you compare him to the first two home, was ridden cold out the back and ran on late as if his best was to come. He had never won an Open Handicap and was a maiden last September but today was just 1kg below Authentic Paddy, a four-time G1 placed galloper, so it looked absurd and was and is. To make matters even worse this five-win 5yo galloper has 58.5kg next week in the G3 Wellington Cup, which is the same weight as the winner of the race last year Mister Impatience, when it was a G2 event. He looks a decent stayer but has risen staggeringly in the weights at Group level considering he is yet to actually win an Open Handicap. No Emotion and Guarantor battled on the run home after sitting beside each other for much of the race. Nashville was seen running on late from last, as he often does, but the race pace was not strong enough overall to help his natural pattern. The last trio home were ordinary and may have been feeling the ground to some extent. Sampson was the strongman at the finish and will always be tough in events like this as his current handicap position is so tenuous, which is a shame for a currently thriving older male stayer. Authentic Paddy had every chance and does like filling a placing with twenty-seven of them staggeringly in his record so far. The big improver is clearly the 4yo mare Promise To Reign as she has it all ahead of her this year. This was not a strong field and likely irrelevant big picture as the weight conditions used in this do not suit New Zealand racing that already has a distinct lack of depth across the board in both the sprinting and staying ranks.