Eastern States RacingEast Coast Racing

Thunderstruck

Early days for the weekend but i have my eye on all Annabel Neasham's runners on Saturday at Doomben...the track may hit the soft range as rain is forecast on the day don't think it will impact the racing too much with around 5 mils forecast.

Wisdom Of Water whom she has had for 3 runs now(Mick Price and Edmonds had the colt previously)is nominated in races 4 and 6, see which way they go but Williams rides regardless, should possie up on speed where you need to be and give a great sight in either race..R4 for 3yo's may be the better option as R6 is an open class race but we shall see.

Horse went terriffic on a soft 7 last start and all his 3 wins in 2020 were at the Gold Coast, also ran a very unlucky 4th in the Magic Millions so is used to the qld tracks.Is around $6 and 9 in the respective races atm.

A roughie the ex Waller galloper Osamu she has now is also nommed in R4 unsure if they run as it drew 14 but was scr from Kensington today so may well do.Issue might be it will roll forward too and maybe sits outside WOW breezing hopefully Mcneil doesn't overdo it and stuff the stablemates chance, plan B may be Wiliams lets him go and box seats 3rd the fence.

Anyway, whilst it is $26 he has plenty of ability including running 2nd in a slipper leadup in 2020 and placing 2nd and running 2 good 4ths in several early 3yo group or listed class races last spring.Knockout chance if leaders are sticking on.

Zaaki in the Doomben Cup looks mighty hard to beat again was super impressive in the Hollindale, a little rain won't be enough to have Mugatoo getting any advantage and Zaaki's win was on a Soft 6 anyway.Jmac just needs to give him a copybook ride(dont get fn planted champ) and he should win again.Only sticking point is the price need 3.20+ to be backing him up to group 1 company.

Finally another ex Waller horse Olmedo lines up in R8 the BRC Sprint.Only took two races for Annabel to get this galloper winning and he did so with 61kgs leading 2nd up over a mile at this track, the win was a bounceback off a well beaten Doncaster run first up just 2 weeks earlier so all in all a pretty impressive effort.

Is 4 weeks fresh into this race probably positions up on speed and there aren't on paper that many dangers, Tofane maybe and a couple down in the wieghts could be hard to hold off, one being Groundswell who could be near the speed also and is one to be wary of.

Anyway if i'm in front on the other runners of her's i'll be having a spec on this galloper too currently $17.

H-BOMBER

La Vina hits the big time tomorrow at Flemington. Short prove but very winnable [-O<

Thunderstruck

Wisdom Of Water starting in R4 i like it like it a LOT.Osamu scratched fair enough too.

R6 (and i may regret this or just maybe he jags a spot :-? ) King Of Hastings, Lane on wide gate what could go wrong!! this horse is going for a 3peat of runs when getting planted THE TRIP..was huge winning one of those runs in Sydney and then was a fantastic 5th at the goldy at his last..any luck and he can win fresh at around 9/10 bucks.

Probably not going to get $3+ Zaaki, whilst a bit concerned about Sir Dragonet in that i may not have given him enough credit i don't see much speed again so still think Zaaki can outsprint them and win.

Sticking with Olmedo in R8.

Thunderstruck

Looked like the Snickerdoodle was going to win easily first time in the east then gets swamped by one having a winkers first time "peak" run suppose the light impost 51 kgs helped it ...only at fuckedupflemington.

LOL

Thunderstruck

Ran out of room f-ya Jmac probably doesnt beat the winner but places, won't be sacking it yet but Annabel should put Berry on.

Thunderstruck

Itsa goddamn SMASHUP by Zaaki WOWEE congrats Annabel your a star  :x

tony

that is a seriously good horse

detonator

Nice one TS. Didn’t Winx win her first Group race in Qld ??

WOW !!!!

Thunderstruck

detonator said:

Nice one TS. Didn’t Winx win her first Group race in Qld ??

WOW !!!!

It was destruction at it's best mate..i got Might And Power vibes

detonator

Yes. Hoping it is not a one off but looks a megastar.

Thunderstruck

and then you have Flemington headquarters for **** results is it's infamy, anyway that's it Pandemic is permanently sacked tnuceht

Precision1

Zaaki was battling in listed and group 3 company in England.  We can’t be that far behind them surely?   Not like it had only had a couple of starts either.  

Thunderstruck

Neasham has him going better than Waller did hence my praise for her..but as to your question i think he may have grown a leg here don't think we're that far adrift?

*however i wait for PC to hit the boards with his 2 bobs worth lol 

tony

Look where some of the others (Sir Dragonet, Mugatoo etc) finished today.

Only time will really tell but I suspect Zaaki is a vastly improved animal from when he came here.

H-BOMBER

I wonder whether Zaaki just enjoys the training regime in Australia rather than where he was? Personally I think this is mostly the case with these internationals, it's only the Gp3 type horses who get sold to here and so it appears that they are panels better when they "improve".

thefalcon

and perhaps zaaki loves annabels setup rather than the waller factory.

PC

Zaaki was a Group 3/Listed horse in Europe and was hammered in Hong Kong too but comes to Australia and wins the G1 Doomben Cup by 7 lengths, no doubt at all Zaaki has improved and credit goes to the trainer but that Doomben Cup field collectively was dire.

Another nail in the coffin for Australian racing at 1600m+......you get B and C and D Grade hacks from Europe coming to Australia and winning Group 1s - make no mistake about it...sadly our racing is poor at 1600m+ and has been for a decade and a bit....no depth.

Could you honestly see Zaaki winning a 2000m Group 1 race in Australia in the 1990s when the likes of Better Loosen Up, Lets Elope, Veandercross, Super Impose Saintly, Might And Power, Tie The Knot etc were running or in the early to mid 2000s when the likes of Sunline, Northerly, Lonhro etc were running? Its sad..very sad how Australian racing has become.

Also - I notice that the 2020 Melbourne Cup runner up (Tiger Moth) is resuming tonight in the G1 WFA race in Ireland tonight - the Tattersalls Gold Cup at 2100m. Will be interesting to see if he comes back in 2021.

Dual VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner (True Self) is entered for the same race and interestingly no longer in OTI colours, maybe their lease on her expired.

Thunderstruck

Well i agree to some extent PC because we didnt offer up anything worthy on the day partly due to timing but partly due to lack of quality, will say though the main opposition on Saturday were EX imports? lol and both got violated..

I've never rated that bloody Sir Dragonet who fluked the Cox on a bog and beats nothing in the Tancred in its only 2 wins(VE would have smashed him)otherwise has been plain in most other starts, also Mugatoo is a wet track jet otherwise BOG average.

Zaaki may have been near unbeatable today even with VE taking him on not sure on that..hopefully a decent(fair)track for the CP this year and we will see an epic edition..sadly no Arcadia Queen.Maybe Bob has one that explodes into the mix this spring.

PC

Thunderstruck said:

Well i agree to some extent PC because we didnt offer up anything worthy on the day partly due to timing but partly due to lack of quality, will say though the main opposition on Saturday were EX imports? lol and both got violated..

I've never rated that bloody Sir Dragonet who fluked the Cox on a bog and beats nothing in the Tancred in its only 2 wins(VE would have smashed him)otherwise has been plain in most other starts, also Mugatoo is a wet track jet otherwise BOG average.

Zaaki may have been near unbeatable today even with VE taking him on not sure on that..hopefully a decent(fair)track for the CP this year and we will see an epic edition..sadly no Arcadia Queen.Maybe Bob has one that explodes into the mix this spring.

I think Sir Dragonet is ok but maybe a bit overrated by some? He is probably too dour for 2000m yet still won the 2020 Cox Plate. He obviously likes 2400m bit 3200m is a bit far.

The issue is as ive said a few times on other racing forums is that there is simply not enough 2400m+ races run under WFA conditions. Most of them are run under handicap conditions and doesn't suit those horses (like Sir Dragonet) who are weighted out of the big staying handicap races. I mean there isn't enough 2400m+ races in Australia full stop.

But back to the big issue with what I said before...its just very very sad how Australian racing has become at 1600m+ depthwise...the past decade has been sad. Nothing wrong with sprinting mind you.

Thunderstruck

Looking forward to the Qld derby this saturday it looks a 2 horse race to me , to achieve a feat of some serious merit i would be happy to see Explosive Jack nab a 4th derby however one i backed last start Senor Toba looks ready to peak and he will relish 2400 and Eagle Farm.
Think he is the more likely winner off a less arduous campaign, an early look at the forecast indicates the track should be good and fair for all.

PC

Timeform rating of 126 for Zaaki in winning the Doomben Cup. The best rating for a Doomben Cup winner in 22 years according to article below


https://www.racingandsports.com/news/timeform/timeform-news/2021-05-24/timeform-recap-2021-doomben-cup/549555

Thunderstruck

Intergaze hey..shows the experts rated the win pretty highly too, which is great for Annabel she deserves some credit for his improvement undoubtedly.Mo'unga will be better in Spring i believe too.

Ahh Yes the year before 1998 Mighty smashed the 2020m course record running 2.00.5, Denham said after the race he was a bit "flat" lol when questioned about only winning by 2 lengths and being stretched by Intergaze.

tony

Dominic Beirne said that adjusting fr the different conditions etc his figures showed Zaaki' performance virtually identical to that of Might and Power

Thunderstruck

tony said:

Dominic Beirne said that adjusting fr the different conditions etc his figures showed Zaaki' performance virtually identical to that of Might and Power

yep mentioned that on Saturday, watching it live i got that kind of feeling.

Thunderstruck

Just to clarify and the article says the same thing at this stage he is not the next Might And Power but his rating is on the rise, was very good last start and better on Saturday can't do much more than that.

Will need to reproduce that figure at least in a race like the Cox Plate not sure VE loves the valley though or who else will line up,Mo'unga might, stablemates clash and she quinellla's it!!

Bob got any guns potentially Group 1 material at 2000m now Truly Great(rip bigboy)and Arcadia Queen aren't racing anymore? Inspirational Girl maybe?

H-BOMBER

H-BOMBER said:

La Vina hits the big time tomorrow at Flemington. Short prove but very winnable [-O<

Follow her from that race. Didn't appreciate being crowded amongst other horses, down the straight first time and the drop back to 1100m always an issue in the back of my mind. Plus I don't think Yendall will be patting himself on the back, certainly in the last 300m. Was a good hit out for 1400m next start

Precision1

Yes very interesting listening to the ratings experts.  One I heard basically said if he can reproduce that nothing in Aus can beat him, it was lengths on Verry Elleegants best ever rating and even a length on Lys Gracioux Cox plate win.

The thing is it was 4 lengths better than his previous best after 25 starts.  what chance he can ever get there again?  Very unlikely I’d suggest

Thunderstruck

Saw Annabel on After The Last looks like he will back up in the Q22 on Stradbroke day, hope he obliterates them again looks likely to.SP $1.40/1.50 ?

detonator

Better than bank interest.

thefalcon

^ we've all seen shorter ones bite the dust, Deto. remember the old saying 'odds on look on"...