New Zealand Racing, 2010-11

[_ed_]

Thought it was time for a new thread to celebrate the new season.

Great field for the G3 Foxbridge Plate tomorrow:

1 X6233 Bulginbaah 7 108 58.5 Trudy Thornton Ken Cropp & Catherine Wilson, Wanganui
2 1143X Red Ruler 16 108 58.5 Jason Collett (a) John Sargent, Matamata
3 5851X Jacowils 11 106 58.5 Mark Hills Kristine Stead, Te Rapa
4 01531 Run Like Al 13 105 58.5 Andrew Calder Jakki Good, Waiuku
5 9239X Vonusti 4 103 58.5 Noel Harris Tim & Margaret Carter, Cambridge
6 3819X Stupendous 12 101 58.5 David Walker Kevin Myers, Wanganui
7 17X68 Who Knows 3 100 58.5 Samantha Collett Natalie Tanner, Muriwai Beach
8 23231 Salvatore 17 95 58.5 Michael Coleman Anne Herbert, Cambridge
9 1533X All In Tempo 1 86 58.5 Craig Grylls Bryce Revell, New Plymouth
10 82115 Irish Colleen 8 99 56.5 Leith Innes Stephen McKee, Ardmore
11 719X8 Beautiful Girl 14 98 56.5 Matthew Cameron Leanne Franklin, Avondale
12 86213 Miss Raggedy Ann 6 94 56.5 Sam Spratt Andrew Scott, Matamata
13 2310X Katie Lee (AUS) 2 90 56.5 Opie Bosson Graeme & Debbie Rogerson, Tuhikaramea
14 6128X St Germaine 10 77 56.5 Mark Du Plessis John Sargent, Matamata
15 X191X Lion Tamer 9 79 51.5 Murray & Bjorn Baker, Cambridge
16 3X14X Chimichangas 15 80 58.5 Kristine Stead, Te Rapa
17 30X61 Lamington Vegas 5 78 56.5 Andrew Scott, Matamata

Obviously Katie Lee is the best horse in the race, but the track could be quite wet, and that'll cause some trouble for her.

Run Like Al was amazing last start, so will be very hard to beat here.

And you always have to respect Bulginbaah - a winner of 20 races, including this race in 2006 and 2009. He also likes it wet. But he is 10 years old now.

And just some names of 3yos to keep an eye on that have really impressed me so far this season in clearing maidens:

Able Charm
Flash Hapi
Mackadoo
Oforawesome (*sigh* but a very nice horse)
Blue Minx
Magic Briar
Zafer

[my miss storm cat]

Aside from the best horse in the field (... and if she needs one back that's okay). good luck to Red Ruler and to Lion Tamer.

[_ed_]

They've decided it's just too wet for Katie today, so she's scratched. I hope they can still get her fit in time for the G1 Mudgway on August 28.

Now the odds say it's between Run Like Al, Bulginbaah, Vonusti and St Germaine. Lion Tamer is 11-1, and Red Ruler is 31-1! Too short for him, I guess.

[_ed_]

Bulginbaah - 77 starts, 21 wins, 15 seconds, 10 thirds.


9 stakes wins, 7 seconds, 5 thirds.

4 starts in the Foxbridge Plate for 3 wins (2006, 2009, 2010) and a second (2008, beaten a nose).

What a great old horse. A mudder, sure, but a great one.

Replay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTi7FBDyQc8

There's a nasty two-horse spill in this race. Both horses (Who Knows and Irish Colleen) were OK, and Sam Collett kept riding for the rest of the day. Leith Innes was taken for X-rays on his elbow, so it doesn't sound too bad for him either.

But the accident caused a ton of interference to some of the other good runners in the race. You can forget some of them (Vonusti, Lion Tamer, St Germaine) even ran.

We know nothing more about the Mudgway at this stage. It will most likely be a dry track, so all of these horses will perform differently. Then you've got Katie Lee, Keep The Peace, Mufhasa and others going straight to that race without a prep run.

[_ed_]

Good news about Leith:
http://www.thoroughbrednews.com.au/n....aspx?id=48303

[my miss storm cat]

Sounds terribly painful but yeah, he is lucky.

Glad to hear the latest.

Any news on Culminate, Juice or our good Sir?

[_ed_]

Culminate is now based in Australia. She's entered in the Cox Plate, but I think she's better at a mile so I hope they stick to races over that distance.

Juice and Sir Slick are both missing from the entries for all the big races this spring. I think Juice has been retired...not sure about Sir. But I think it's safe to say he's done enough!

[my miss storm cat]

Oh God I hope so!

... and Juice... you'd think there would have been a headline or something but I probably missed it.

Thanks, ed and very happy to know Culminate is still in training!

[_ed_]

Odds for the Mudgway (7 days to go!):

Mufhasa 7-2
Wall Street 4-1
Katie Lee 7-1
Keep The Peace 8-1
Vonusti 9-1
Pennachio 10-1
Run Like Al 11-1
Bulginbaah 11-1
The Hombre 12-1
Fritzy Boy 15-1
Firebolt 20-1
Vosne Romanee 20-1
My (Miss) Keepsake 20-1

And the rest are all at better than 20-1 (including G1 winners Jacowils, Veloce Bella and Eileen Dubh).

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by _ed_

Odds for the Mudgway (7 days to go!):

Mufhasa 7-2
Wall Street 4-1
Katie Lee 7-1
Keep The Peace 8-1
Vonusti 9-1
Pennachio 10-1
Run Like Al 11-1
Bulginbaah 11-1
The Hombre 12-1
Fritzy Boy 15-1
Firebolt 20-1
Vosne Romanee 20-1
My (Miss) Keepsake 20-1

And the rest are all at better than 20-1 (including G1 winners Jacowils, Veloce Bella and Eileen Dubh).

First of all, what???

Katie Lee at what?

Second thank you for the My (Miss) Keepsake.

3rd... What happened, ed? Why did they close down?

http://www.nzracingnews.co.nz/

[_ed_]

I never heard an explanation for why they closed. I guess they were losing money. It's a shame. It was a good site.

I can't really explain Katie Lee's odds. It might be the fact that she's never won the first race of a campaign - she was 2nd in her first race as a 2yo and 3rd in her first start at 3. Because of her Foxbridge Plate scratching, the Mudgway will be her first start as a 4yo. They might think she needs a race before she's back at her amazing best.

But she's also never run on a dry track in the first race of a campaign. I think if the track is dry on Saturday, her odds will be about half that.

[_ed_]

Decision made: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/racing/new...ectid=10668354

It's a shame she'll miss the G1, but I'm happy she's going to run at Ruakaka - I can easily drive up there.

[my miss storm cat]

Lucky you for being able to jump in your car and see her!

Okay ed I'm getting really mixed up so maybe you can help me out here.

I Am Sam was the heavy favorite but came in 2nd over the weekend, right?

Some of these horses i do like a lot. Fritzy Boy, for example.

The problem is I can remember him being 3rd to C'est La Guerre (was that the Derby?) but not much else.

The Hombre is another and I can remember being really happy when he won something at Doomben but cannot remember what or what he's really done since.

Firebolt...can't remember the names of the races but I do remember being so impressed with him (even though they weren't G1s or anything).

Illuminates. Well that was a lovely win over the weekend (but weird to see Raihana do so poorly ).

So the odds are looking like this or rather so the odds are looking like this???


The full Mudgway market: $4.50 Mufhasa, $5 Wall Street, $6 Keep The Peace, $8 Katie Lee, $10 Pennacchio, Vonusti; $12 Fritzy Boy, Miss Maren, Run Like Al, The Hombre; $14 Illuminates, Bulginbaah; $21 Beautiful Girl, $31 Vosne Romanee, Veloce Bella, Hold It Harvey, Firebolt; $41 Eileen Dubh, Jacowils, $51 Lamington Vegas, Salvatore, My Astron, $101 I Am Sam, Spare A Fortune.


The odds for Keep the Peace seem too low and (most of) the rest seem too high. Muhfasa and Wall Street seem about right.

What's your take on this?

Are some of the odds absurd here or is there stuff I'm not taking into consideration?

Does it take Muhfasa a while to get going? I remember his two nice wins earlier in the year (and being surprised which is so moronic) and was curious.

Who was the horse who almost fell in, God I cannot remember the name but it was a G1 (I think!) mile race at the very beginning of the year? Do you remember that?

Last question (sorry! You don't have to answer all or don't have to answer all at once. I know you have a life) where is Coinston (you're groaning, aren't you? ) Bluebird these days? Have not seen that name in forever. Honestly I don't think I've seen it since he won the Derby... (God remembr that? Remember thinking Down the Road had it and then...)

Oh and Imabayboy! Will he be racing or was he retired?

Thanks ed!

[_ed_]

Haha, a life? What's that?!

I Am Sam was definitely expected to win last weekend, but that was in a much lower grade. He came 14th in his only try at G1 level, so I think that might explain his big odds here.

You're right about Fritzy Boy's terrific 3rd in the 2007 Derby. Since then he has won a G1 (this race, actually, in August 2007) and finished second in another G1 last season. He's best on wet ground, which most people are expecting we'll have for this year's Mudgway. That's why his odds are so low. But I'm not so sure it will be wet - it's a Slow 9 there today, and there's quite a lot of sun and warm temperatures forecast for the rest of the week. I think it might be in the Dead range.

The Hombre won the G3 Rough Habit Plate in Brisbane and then was placed in the G2 Grand Prix. He was disappointing in the Queensland Derby, but apart from that he had a great season. The Mudgway is on his home track, so I think people are expecting him to run a big race.

Firebolt was very impressive going wire-to-wire in a couple of stakes races in Brisbane over similar distances to the Mudgway. Roger James has a huge opinion of him, and he's a very highly respected and astute trainer.

I do think Keep The Peace's odds are a bit low. She did win the Oaks, and if it hadn't been for Katie Lee, she would have won the 1000 Guineas as well. But I think the distance of this race is a bit short for her - I wouldn't expect her to beat these guys over a distance shorter than a mile.

You're right about Mufhasa taking a while to get going. He seems to usually be at his peak in January-March time. But he was great in this race last year, finishing a close second to Tavistock. A repeat of that effort would see him go close to winning this one.

Trying to think of who you might be talking about for the mile race. Maybe La Etoile? She won the big mile on January 1. If she's the one you mean, I think they're being careful with her because she came back from a race in April with an irregular heartbeat.

I actually saw this story about Coniston Bluebird just a few days ago:
http://www.racingandsports.com.au/ra...asp?NID=184026
I hope he does well. Maybe he can make that Derby result seem less ridiculous!

Imabayboy will be racing. I think they might look at some of the nice big G2 cups in the summer for him - Counties Cup, Waikato Cup, Avondale Cup, etc.

Hope that helps!

[my miss storm cat]

Absolutely and thank you! If not for you I wouldn't know any of these horses and I mean there are SO many good ones, exciting to watch, worth the wait... I am so happy you're here.

I didn't realize this was The Hombres home track and you probably told me about bayboy at the end of last season but if so I'd forgotten.

I had no idea about Coinston Bluebird and yeah agree... hope he comes back and shows us cause i never mind being wrong.

Remember the race you posted that Vonusti had won?

http://www.derbytrail.com/forums/sho...sti#post607373

I remember reading this and going back to watch the replay (if he were hurt no way would i have) and being thankful that it was blurred and hard to see, then deciding I didn't need to watch it a second time.

Filed on 30 Jan 2010 @ 10:04
New Zealand, 30 January 2010

Group One glory for Montjeu five-year-old

Five-year-old gelding Wall Street (Montjeu) landed the Group One Harcourts Thorndon Mile over 1600m at Trentham racecourse in Wellington on Saturday, coming with a strong run from the second half of the field in the final 800m before challenging for the lead a furlong from home, staying on strongly to score by half a length from Tavistock, to provide their sire, Montjeu with the quinella.

Wall Street had almost fallen in the straight in the Group One Telegraph Handicap last Saturday, prompting his trainer Jeff Lynds to say: “It was a little bit disappointing after the Telegraph, but in the last couple of days I thought ‘you’re there’.”

Rider Buddy Lammas said “I thought we would have won the Telegraph. He was travelling better or at least as well as the winner (Vonusti) when he was checked to last and it was just because he tries so hard that he found like he did for ninth.”

http://www.the-racehorse.com/racing/..._thorndon_mile

Would love to hear your pick as the race gets closer. As usual I'll probably be rooting for like 9 horses.

[_ed_]

Yeah, that Telegraph was a very rough race. I was impressed that Wall Street bounced back from that so quickly and won the Thorndon a week later. Wealth Princess also suffered major interference in that race. Vonusti was a great winner, but so many horses had excuses that day.

I will give you some picks for this weekend's race, but I'll just wait and see what happens with the weather first and also the draw.

Speaking of Wealth Princess, her new trainer, Lee Freedman, said this a few days ago about the upcoming season: "Things will get interesting because we have some nice horses. I'm very impressed with Wealth Princess - she is a top class mare."

We knew that already, but it's nice that he mentioned her specifically.

[my miss storm cat]

That is nice and I look forward to your picks.

The Telegraph... you know it cuts off right before the announcer says who was last.

If you ever happen to watch a different replay of the same race or just happen to know it's driving me crazy (and yes i have looked for full results but can't find them!).

It's just bothering me because he says something like "... and the trailer, unfortunately, in the back of the field is" and then it cuts off!

[_ed_]

Just had a look at the result and it seems Gold Trail ran last. He was one of the favourites after his big Railway win, but he couldn't get on the lead in the Telegraph and just never fired.

But he ran a great race in Singapore after that.

[my miss storm cat]

Oh right, I remember!

He was really good in the Kris Flyer. I think he was right behind the HK kids and Rocket Man.

I remember, before the race, reading little comments about how grand he looked in trackwork and wondering who he was!

Thanks ed. This would have kept me up all night wondering!

[_ed_]

Mudgway field:

1 4144X Vosne Romanee 18 110 59.0 Jeff Lynds, Awapuni
2 62331 Bulginbaah 14 109 59.0 Trudy Thornton Ken Cropp & Catherine Wilson, Wanganui
3 36973 Mufhasa 2 109 59.0 Sam Spratt Stephen McKee, Ardmore
4 1910X Wall Street 5 107 59.0 Jeff Lynds, Awapuni
5 851X3 Jacowils 16 106 59.0 Kristine Stead, Te Rapa
6 126X3 Hold It Harvey (AUS) 9 105 59.0 Terri Rae, Riccarton Park
7 15314 Run Like Al 10 105 59.0 Andrew Calder Jakki Good, Waiuku
8 23X20 Fritzy Boy 12 103 59.0 Lisa Allpress Alby MacGregor, Opaki
9 239X6 Vonusti 8 103 59.0 Noel Harris Tim & Margaret Carter, Cambridge
10 12129 The Hombre (AUS) 3 90 58.5 Jonathan Riddell John Bary, Hastings
11 01831 Illuminates (AUS) 17 105 57.0 Graeme & Debbie Rogerson, Tuhikaramea
12 1376X Miss Maren 6 104 57.0 Mark Du Plessis Ken & Bev Kelso, Matamata
13 X1611 Pennacchio 4 100 57.0 Hayden Tinsley Andrew Scott, Matamata
14 19X80 Beautiful Girl 15 98 57.0 Leanne Franklin, Avondale
15 9210X Keep The Peace 1 90 56.5 James McDonald (a) Shaune Ritchie, Cambridge
16 363X9 Eileen Dubh 7 84 56.5 Francis Finnegan, Woodville
17 X5X27 My Astron 13 102 59.0 Peter Evans, Waipukurau
18 0X612 Lamington Vegas 11 79 56.5 Andrew Scott, Matamata

Bad gates for Vosne Romanee and Illuminates. Mufhasa's probably had the best luck - he's drawn 2, and the one drawn inside him, Keep The Peace, will drop back, so he'll get a nice trip.

The 3yo race on the undercard is always worth watching - last year the 1-2 finishers were The Hombre and Joey Massino, Juice won it in 2008, and Jokers Wild won it in 2006. The field:

1 04301 Faro Rubino 12 69 57.0 Carol Kupa, Foxton
2 3661 Fiddler 7 69 57.0 Tony Gillies, Matamata
3 7X1X Barefoot 11 68 56.5 Robert Hannam Adrian Bull, Hunterville
4 1X El Primero 3 68 56.5 Lance Noble, Matamata
5 21X Shotoutofagun 6 68 56.5 Gary Vile, Awapuni
6 18X Big Boy 8 67 56.0 Jonathan Riddell Mike Breslin, Awapuni
7 20327 Barside 5 58 55.0 Trent Busuttin, Cambridge
8 2 Maradona 9 57 55.0 Opie Bosson Andrew Campbell, Opaki
9 4 Gospel 10 55 54.5 Michael Moroney & Andrew Clarken, Matamata
10 005 Di's Boy 2 52 54.5 Marty Johnson, Woodville
11 Princess Katie (AUS) 1 50 54.5 Kevin Gray, Copper Belt Lodge, Palmerston North
12 9 Princess Talaria 4 50 54.5 G J Hart, Hastings
13 Yin Yang Master (AUS) 13 50 54.5 Mark Du Plessis John Sargent, Matamata

I haven't heard of most of these! But I'm sure I will in the next few months. Gospel was unlucky in his only start, and people are talking about Maradona and El Primero.