Aegon best when fresh
Five-year-old Aegon (NZ), a son of the late Sacred Falls (NZ), will be best this Saturday in the G1 Captain Cook S. at Trentham, according to his trainer Andrew Forsman, who thinks the lightly raced gelding is at his finest when fresh.
“In the past as a younger horse he hasn’t coped too well with racing too closely together,” Forsman told NZ Racing Desk. “I don’t know whether that will be the case forever, but at this stage, it’s what he appreciates.”
Aegon (NZ) wins the G3 Moonga S. at Caulfield | Image courtesy of Bruno Cannatelli
Aegon was last seen when fourth to Alligator Blood (All Too Hard) in the G1 Champions Mile at Flemington. The remainder of his current targets will be decided after Saturday’s race.
Steinem to Northerly
Ciaron Maher and David Eustace will saddle Steinem (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Northerly S. at Ascot, formerly the Kingston Town Classic. Last seen running second in the G2 Matriarch S., the daughter of Frankel (GB) will be ridden in the Group 1 by John Allen.
“We enter horses over there each year but obviously it's hard to travel over there and beat the locals,” Maher said. “We are mindful you have to have the right horse and we think she might be.
“The idea is to try and get her to win a Group 1. Probably her best run was her last run. She's a mare that has always shown that sort of ability. She just took a while to find her form this prep but her last run was great. Terrific sectionals and very strong to the line.
“She handles firm going and although it clearly won't be a pushover with horses like Amelia's Jewel, it is an opportunity for her.”
Cylinder with jaw injury
Godolphin 2-year-old Cylinder (Exceed And Excel), who was a last-start second to Little Brose (Per Incanto {USA}) in the Listed Merson Cooper S. last weekend, has been found to have sustained a lower jaw injury as a result of being fractious in the barrier. After loading, the colt lunged forward and struck the stalls.
Cylinder | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Cylinder, trained at Flemington by James Cummings, will need a veterinary clearance before racing again, with stable rep Sean Keogh notified by Racing Victoria stewards that the colt will have a warning recorded against him for being fractious in the barriers.
Blue Diamond ambitions for Gangitano
The co-trainers of the smart 2-year-old Gangitano, a youngster by Written By, are harbouring Blue Diamond ambitions after their colt was a strong third on debut in the Listed Merson Cooper S. last Saturday.
“We knew that the 1000 metres would be a little too quick for him and when he came off the bridle, we weren’t overly surprised,” co-trainer Amy Yargi has told Racing.com. “We were just rapt with the way that he did straighten up and get going. He hit the line and showed what we’ve seen from him at home and in his jump-outs.”
Maher and Eustace reach a century
A double at Ararat on Tuesday meant Ciaron Maher and David Eustace’s total tally of winners for the season moved to 101, one ahead of Chris Waller. The first leg of the double was provided by Onika (Written Tycoon), before Let’s Sea (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}) added to the tally in the next race on the card.
This season the trainers have sent out five Group 1 winners in total, headed by Gold Trip (Fr) (Outstrip {GB}), who handed the pair a first victory in the G1 Melbourne Cup.
Alfriston for the Bonecrusher
The 3-year-old gelding Alfriston, a son of Jukebox who was a last-start fourth in the G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas after leading throughout, will back up into this Saturday’s G3 Bonecrusher S. at Pukekohe. He will be the second-highest-rated horse among the 16-strong field after Sacred Satono (NZ) (Satono Aladdin {Jpn}), who missed the 2000 Guineas.
“On the day down there at Riccarton, he missed the start a bit and had to do a bit of work to get there (the lead),” said his trainer Chris Wood. “Once there, he set his own pace and he found the line well. It was a good run.”
Alfriston | Image courtesy of Trish Dunell
Saturday’s Bonecrusher will also include Polygon (NZ) (Highly Recommended) and Kabugee (Satono Aladdin {Jpn}), and the in-form Toronado (Ire) colt The Intimidator.
Hawkesbury trainers on a roll
Hawkesbury-based trainers have emerged as a dominant force in the New South Wales ranks for the first four months of the new season, according to Racing NSW. In November alone, 20 winners have been prepared from the track, the largest number in the season overall and the equal-largest with April of 2021.
Both Brad Widdup, who trained six winners, and Michael Freedman’s satellite yard, which trained five, made up 50 per cent of the Hawkesbury’s total winners this month, while Team Attard and the satellite yard of John O’Shea chipped in, along with trainers Marc Chevalier, Claire Lever, Peter Green, Fabio Martini and Terry Croft.
Justacanta back home in NZ
The 9-year-old veteran Justacanta (NZ) (Per Incanto {USA}) is back in New Zealand with his original trainers, Shaun and Emma Clotworthy, after an 18-month tenure in Australia that posted victories in the G2 Linlithgow S. and Listed Paris Lane H. last year.
Largely with trainer Patrick Payne, the gelding was briefly in the care of Tasmanian trainer Scott Brunton earlier this year before wrapping up his 15-start Australian campaign in July. He had his first appearance on Tuesday in a public hitout at Avondale and is nominated for the G1 Railway S. and G1 Telegraph H. through the summer.
Justacanta (NZ) wins the G2 Linlithgow S. last year | Image courtesy of Bruno Cannatelli
“He’s only 60 to 70 per cent fit, so I was happy with him,” said Shaun Clotworthy. “He was just having a day out and it’s great to have him back. He has pleased me over the last couple of weeks at home.”
Changes to Cup protocols unlikely
A review of Racing Victoria’s stringent Melbourne Cup veterinary protocols is underway, but RV CEO Andrew Jones says it’s unlikely any major changes will be made for 2023.
Speaking on Racing.com’s After The Last on Monday night, Jones said a second fatality-free G1 Melbourne Cup in a row was a good result for the industry but RV couldn't afford to take a backwards step from the strict stance it has adopted since 2020.
“The single most important thing for us, not just in the Melbourne Cup, but the Melbourne Cup carnival, the spring carnival and the year of racing is that we have a safe Melbourne Cup because that is the most watched race in Australia,” Jones said.
“It is the race that stops a nation and it is a shop window for our sport. We’re very happy that we’ve had two safe races in a row and we don’t think that the medical standards that have helped produce that are likely to change materially, particularly the scans of the legs of the horses to identify risks.
“We do a review every year which we do at the moment and the early feedback is that we can improve some communication in some elements of the process but I can't see us relaxing the medical standards, nor to be honest is anyone calling for that.”
Reminder for Christmas yearling auction
Bloodstockauction.com will host its inaugural online Christmas Yearling Sale from December 15-20, the first pre-Christmas sale of its kind. The company is reminding potential vendors of this new option for yearlings that haven’t been nominated to any of the traditional physical sales.
Online bidding will remain open 24 hours a day over the five days in December, and entries have been flowing in since the sale was announced earlier this month. Bloodstockauction.com has a registered database of over 20,000 members.
