3 minute read

A huge weekend of racing saw some exciting performances.

Moonee Valley

Pride Of Jenni did her thing and ran them ragged in the Group 2 Feehan Stakes (1600m), the small field and no pressure playing exactly into her hands, although I'm not sure it would've mattered.

Her and Declan Bates just make it so difficult for the others (horse and jockey) to play within their comfort zone. Once again here, strictly speaking, she's gone out too fast in front and is stopping late, but because she does that, the others are too far off her and exert too much energy in the middle of the race to chase her down.

Pride Of Jenni's finishing speed is lower than ideal, but it is the same deviation in the negative that Mr Brightside is in the positive – and it works.

She's run to 123 with Timeform, which is the third best rating of her career. The peak of course came in the Queen Elizabeth at 129 while she went 124 to win the All Star Mile by two lengths over Mr Brightside, who was 1.5 lengths away this time.

That's up three pounds on her Makybe Diva run while Mr Brightside dipped two pounds. A slightly off ride this time on Mr Brightside, a track that probably favours Jenni further and any kind of natural variance have seen her turn the tables.

The Cox Plate is setting up to be an absolute world-beater and I hope we see Mr Brightside coming off a dominant win at 2000m in the Might And Power.

Southport Tycoon won the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) under an outstanding Mark Zahra ride. The win was visually enormous, and take nothing away from him, but they have run along at a fast tempo here, and Zahra has ridden him perfectly, to the minisecond.

He's ridden an absolutely perfectly efficient race sectionally which is quite rare, while a horse like Growing Empire has absorbed that fast pace and gone within a nose of winning.

Compare that to leader Estriella who has dropped out to be beaten 3.3 lengths, and Recommendation who was on the leader's back, who has been beaten 3.6 lengths.

Some (ill founded) commentary post-race was that Williams put the cue in the rack aboard Growing Empire, but he's just sat too close to a strong speed, given a very good kick and started paddling a touch late.

He may have also thought it was job done as an inexperienced horse and stargazed a bit, but to even give a kick like that when the other leaders were dropping off is a fasntastic effort.

Both have run to 121 on the Timeform scale, which is a new peak for each of them.

Southport Tycoon went 119 in his Australian Guineas win, so to run to 121 over a sprint trip is impressive. Whether he can go any better than this I'm not sure, especially if he were to stay at 1200m and run in The Everest. The Golden Eagle looks his right target race.

Growing Empire has only further enhanced his reputation with me on Friday night. If he runs in The Everest I think he'll be close to favourite, and if he goes straight to the Coolmore, he's an odds-on chance.

Rosehill

Broadsiding became the first horse to win the Group 1 Golden Rose (1400m) first up from a spell and did it in very exciting fashion.

The market support was scarily telling, starting him evens on the tote and close to it on other mediums.

The pace wasn't overly quick here and Broadsiding has ripped home, running to 121 with Timeform, a clear new peak for him.

There was every indication the 116 ratings he ran as a two-year-old were going to be improved upon sooner rather than later, but to do so by five pounds so quickly is outstanding.

A rating of 121 in a Golden Rose isn't anything out of the ordinary by any means. In the past ten years, it's a trio of Godolphin gallopers who sit 1-2-3 on the ratings list.

Exosphere ran 127 to win in 2015 and Astern 126 the year after, while Bivouac went 123 in 2019.

Broadsiding sits below them and Trapeze Artist (122) who won by 4.3 lengths, but ahead of the likes of The Autumn Sun (120), In The Congo (120), Jacquinot (120), Ole Kirk (118) and Militarize (116).

I'd still prefer to see Storm Boy go to the Guineas. People will say he's a sprinter, but he's run to the same rating he did first-up over 1100m here over 1400m, coming in at 118 both times.

That said, anything will have the task ahead to beat Broadsiding in the Guineas, which will then add another fascinating element in a Cox Plate.

Broadsiding has gone every bit as well as a horse like Anamoe did in the Golden Rose who then ran 123 in the Guineas and should've won a (fairly) thin Cox Plate. Broadsiding will have to be even better to win this year's Cox Plate, and there's every chance he could be.