Race by race recap of key performers and ones to watch moving forward from Saturday’s Summer Sprint Day meeting at Randwick.
The meeting commenced with a bang as both Estijaab and D’argento showed they won’t look out of place racing through the autumn carnival.
Memes hit the ground running with a first up win in the Summer Sprint while Flow scored a deserved success following three sound displays to commence his prep.
Danny Williams showed his Country Championship hand with Acquittal and Kopi Luwak delivering a stable quinella in the Highway Handicap while their more experienced stablemate Pumpkin Pie caught the eye contesting Race 8.
Race 1: Estijaab - 2YO SW Plate (1000m)
Estijaab could not have been any more impressive. The $1.7million yearling purchase went straight to the front and won by a big margin.
.@brentonavdulla puts Estijaab out in front and skips away at the 200m to convincing Race 1 victory at #Randwick. A stunning debut from this filly! pic.twitter.com/3la43WuV0J
— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 20, 2018
We’ve got her running to a Timeform rating of 103p. That makes her the third highest rated 2YO filly of the season so far.
Sunlight is the highest rated after her classic win. Setsuna who won the Ottawa Stakes during the Spring at Flemington is next best.
Estijaab looks a very nice filly in the making. Off what she produced on Saturday, you’d expect to see her fighting out the finish in fillies stakes races heading toward the Golden Slipper such as the Widden, Reisling or Magic Night Stakes.
Team Hawkes and Emirates Park combined to win the Golden Slipper with Mossfun in 2014.
Estijaab certainly has a proven partnership behind her moving into the autumn.
Race 2: D’Argento - 3YO Benchmark 76 Handicap (1300m)
That was an exciting win by D’argento. We’ve assessed it at 107p.
D'Argento gets it done for punters with a patient ride from @HugeBowman in behind the speed, producing a strong finish to take out Race 2 for @cwallerracing. He's three from three and unbeaten! pic.twitter.com/H546DLyxrM
— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 20, 2018
By So You Think, the flashy grey will no doubt appreciate more ground than the 1300m Chris Waller resumed him over. The Randwick Guineas (1600m) on March 10 is his main autumn goal.
He’ll likely hit that race fourth run from a spell which will be perfect.
D’argento looks a nice, progressive type. With a little more race experience over the next month he should be ready for a race like that.
The runner up Shumookh was excellent. That was only her second career start and she got within a head of beating a pretty smart one.
Whooska and Intuition in third and fourth. They’ve had great preps but were no match for the first two even with a fitness edge. Each might be best suited by a spell and coming back after the autumn.
Race 3: Acquittal - Class 2 Highway Handicap (1400m)
A Danny Williams Quinella with Acquittal leading them in.
Acquital takes off at the 800m and never looks back, holding on from stablemate Kopi Luwak all the way to the line. A great ride by Jay Ford in the TAB Highway @royalrandwick! pic.twitter.com/8KQlQvcmAZ
— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 20, 2018
Both winner and runner up were impressive. Acquittal produced a Timeform rating of 86. He’s wracked up 50k in prizemoney racing in country restricted grade and he’s only a Class 1 horse now.
Stablemate Kopi Luwak in second gave Acquittal 6kg. He also ran to 86 for being beaten a length.
The important thing about each of their runs is they've proved they can both run seven furlongs. It’s a key string to the bow for each of them with both rising noticeably in trip on their prior outings last Saturday.
It means Danny Williams can confidently aim them towards the Country Championship heat at Goulburn next month.
The Ex Godolphin horse Editors ran fourth. The son of Street Cry is only a pony in size but stuck to his task well.
There are a couple of Highway Handicaps over a bit further which could suit him during the next month.
Race 4: Cellarman - Benchmark 85 Handicap (1600m)
What a campaign Cellarman has had. They made a stack of gear changes midway through his prep. He’s since gone on to win four of his past seven starts.
.@HugeBowman & @cwallerracing combine once again with Cellarman, diving through a gap with plenty of late speed to take out Race 4 from #Randwick. pic.twitter.com/aKDv2x38zl
— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 20, 2018
His latest win returned a Timeform rating of 100.
That was his tenth start this campaign having resumed in September. It looked like he may have been training off a bit the run before when beaten as favourite however the Chris Waller-trained gelding quelled those concerns on Saturday.
Race 5: Memes - Open Handicap (1000m)
Memes is a little pocket rocket. The Jason Coyle-trained mare resumed with a Timeform rating of 100.
Memes enjoys a great ride from @RachelK11, knuckling down and holding on from a wall of runners to score in the fifth at #Randwick. pic.twitter.com/x65ZTSFO6n
— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 20, 2018
She has a master Timeform rating of 104 achieved last prep so there is room for improvement with her.
Royal Tudor in fourth produced a good first up effort. He likely would have finished second with a clear run along the fence in the straight.
He may have even won. That said, Memes has shown plenty of times now she’s a tough one to get past.
Race 6: Carzoff - Benchmark 84 Handicap (2000m)
Carzoff got into the fast lane along the rail and was strong late. He produced a Timeform rating of 103.
Carzoff shows plenty of ability to work his way to the front up the rail and score in the first of the quaddie legs at #Randwick. @brentonavdulla piloting another winner for a @cwallerracing treble!! pic.twitter.com/fMkB988fku
— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 20, 2018
That’s his best career effort to date.
Before Carzoff came over to Australia, he was a stakes placegetter in France.
The Chris Waller-trained import is gradually working through his grades over here.
Chatelard was fair in third. They rode him more positively on Saturday than his prior runs this prep and may have turned a corner. It’s worth noting however he led at an absolute crawl though which may have flattered him a bit.
Race 7: Flow - Benchmark 82 Handicap (1400m)
Flow deserved that win. He’d performed well this prep. It’s netted the four-year-old a Timeform rating of 102p.
Flow lets down well and flashes home to a soft Race 7 victory at #Randwick. @HugeBowman brings up his double with a dominant ride! pic.twitter.com/WGsAnJHiXj
— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 20, 2018
It was a thin race but the son of Street Cry really put a margin on his rivals.
There is a 1500m Benchmark 90 for Flow at Rosehill in two weeks time. He was Group placed in the Sunshine Coast Guineas over the mile last season as a three-year-old. Getting him up toward that trip looks the right idea.
Quick Defence in third was beaten for speed late but it was an encouraging first up run.
He’ll be better suited second and third up over a mile and beyond.
Race 8: Faraway Town - Benchmark 85 Handicap (1200m)
They’ve made the call to train Faraway Town as a sprinter this prep and it’s already reaped dividends.
She’s produced a Timeform rating of 92 first up and broke a two year winning drought in the process.
Faraway Town comes from deep in the field with a surging challenge to nab it on the line in the penultimate event at #Randwick. It's been a while in between drinks for this mare as she returns to the winners circle! pic.twitter.com/IZvZXeUzLh
— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 20, 2018
This is a mare who as a younger horse placed in the Group 1 Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) as a two-year-old, then the Kembla Classic and the Spring Stakes as a three-year-old.
She’s got some fitness under her belt now and that winning feeling back. She’s not even a Benchmark 80 horse yet. It will be interesting to see if they work her through the grades or try for some black type.
Pumpkin Pie was finding the line well first up in fifth. It was a good warm up for the Country Championships.
Race 9: Maddison Avenue - Benchmark 80 Handicap (1600m)
Maddison Avenue is a mare in form who was rewarded for her consistency.
The daughter of Manhattan Rain returned a Timeform rating of 85 for the run, well clear of her previous master figure.
Maddison Avenue produces a gutsy effort to cause a boilover in the last at #Randwick at some big odds. Huge win!! pic.twitter.com/ypOGE4VmLq
— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) January 20, 2018
It was her fourth win from 15 starts and prior to Saturday the Marc Conners-trained four-year-old had strung together five straight placings.
She’s still only a Benchmark 68 horse following last Saturday’s win so she can continue working through her grades whilst enjoying such consistency.
