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Dyer Aims For Darwin Three-Peat

Neil Dyer's Cantonese heads a two-pronged attack for the stable on today’s Darwin Cup.

Cantonese
Cantonese Picture: Racing and Sports

Cantonese has been brought along perfectly into the Cup by a trainer who knows a little bit about winning them, Neil Dyer.

Dyer has won the last two runnings with his warhorse Hawks Bay and while Cantonese isn’t at his level he won’t need to be from down in the weights this year.

He has been given the same prep that has proven successful for the yard in the past two, coming off the Roant Gold Cup, Chief Ministers Cup, and the Metric Mile.

Despite not winning on that path Cantonese’s form, adjusted for today’s weights, rates as good as any of the recent form on offer here and now he gets his chance to break through.

The positive of the stable is well illustrated by their key numbers

The stable strikes at 16% at Fannie Bay, well up on their overall strike rate, and returns a profit on turnover of +17.7%, a huge number given that it comes from a healthy sample size of 232 runners.

The booking of Blake Shinn looks a positive as well.

Shinn is a newcomer to Darwin but he comes here off an outstanding season where he rode at a strike rate of 17%, higher than any he has returned before.

It can easily be argued that Shinn is in career best form and with his talent he must be seen as an asset to any horse that he rides.

The Dyer stable is not single-handed in this years Cup with the Derby winner Royal Request looking more than just an understudy.

In fact, he looks the key danger to Cantonese with winning form in the book and upside to go with it.

There is more depth here to what he tackled in the Derby but he looks set to take the step forward and measure right up.

Gravitational had to settle for second in the Derby but he had the better of Royal Request in the Guineas and must be seen as a solid contender himself.

The Ruffian won both the Guineas and the Derby back in 2011 and his dominant success here last time shows him to be going as well as ever coming into today.

He too has to be respected on that front and looks to round out the key four chances.

Lightinthenight is high up in markets after a pleasing prep race for this but the big query with him is the fact that he has often failed to go on with a good return run in the past.

He’s a while between wins now and while he has the numbers to give this a big shake from the top of the weights he might just be one to oppose today.


Racing and Sports

Darwin Monday, 04th August 2014

1m1f207y SAND GOOD
AUD $205,250

Carlton Mid Darwin Cup

AUD $205,250
Type: OPEN
1m1f207y SAND GOOD
FP Horse, Age & Sex
Sire & Dam
Jockey
Trainer
SP
WT
1st 4. PRETTY BLONDE (AUS) 6yo M
HIGH ROLLING (AUS) - ELLADIOR (AUS)
JUSTIN POTTER
KYM HEALY
$16
56kg
K D Healy, Mrs C L Healy, D G Healy & Mrs L K Healy
2nd 1. LIGHTINTHENITE (AUS) 7yo G
GALILEO (IRE) - TIFFIN (AUS)
R OAKFORD
GARY CLARKE
$11
60kg
M J Burns, B S David, J A Coleman, J Robinson, Mrs S M Clarke, G & C Pastoral, & A G Giles
3rd 3. CANTONESE (AUS) 7yo G
REDOUTE'S CHOICE (AUS) - KYLIKWONG (AUS)
BLAKE SHINN
NEIL DYER
$6
56kg
L J Emery, J M Emery, C Tognolini, Mrs D A Emery, Miss J L Cracknell, S J J Carroll, F J Cacciotti, J W Collins & G L Collins
4th 9. SMARTY MAC (AUS) 7yo G
AKHADAN (AUS) - FINE STEM (AUS)
ANDREW MALLYON
DICK LEECH
$5
54.5kg
5th 5. THE RUFFIAN (AUS) 7yo G
LONHRO (AUS) - ROSE OF DANEHILL (AUS)
KIM GLADWIN
MRS SHEILA ARNOLD
$8
56kg
6th 11. GRAVITATIONAL (AUS) 4yo G
ASTRONOMER ROYAL (USA) - CHELSEY CRY (USA)
DOM TOURNEUR
GARY CLARKE
$8
54kg

Sales Information

7th 10. SPARTAN EAGLE (AUS) 7yo G
NIELLO (AUS) - WEDGETAIL EAGLE (AUS)
JAN CAMERON
BOB RICHARD
$17
54kg
8th 2. CONSTANT FORCE (AUS) 8yo G
JEUNE (GB) - INERTIA (AUS)
DEAN YENDALL
SYMON WILDE
$31
57.5kg

Sales Information

9th 6. DIFFERING FORTUNES (AUS) 5yo G
REDOUTE'S CHOICE (AUS) - CHRISTCHURCH (AUS)
KACIE ADAMS
GREG CONNOR
$31
55.5kg
10th 8. ROYAL REQUEST (AUS) 4yo G
BEL ESPRIT (AUS) - NASSIDARRA (NZ)
JARROD TODD
NEIL DYER
$7.5
54.5kg

Sales Information

11th 12. THE BIG STEEL (AUS) 8yo G
URGENT REQUEST (IRE) - NO RISK (NZ)
ALANA BROWN
STEPHEN BROWN
$26
54kg
DQ 7. SATURDAY SORCERER (AUS) 5yo G
ANY GIVEN SATURDAY (USA) - JEUNE MAGIC (AUS)
PAUL DENTON
STUART GOWER
$9
56kg

Sales Information

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