The barrier of three incredibly won five of the nine race card today on a boggy holding heavy track and that included the Listed 2200m feature Open Handicap. Only a dozen runners disappointingly ran in the race and the field had a 6kg spread from top to bottom. Gentil Tonton won the race in what was just his second start since joining a new yard and the rising 7yo has been well travelled and in several stables now. He started racing in Ireland for Patrick Prendergast then turned up in Sydney for Gary Moore then to New Zealand for the Cruz Brothers (Tony and Martin) and then changed to Lance O’Sullivan and Andre Scott and now is with John Bell. The gelding last won a race in April of 2016 and that was a lowly Ratings 75 (multiple grades inferior to Open Class and especially at blacktype level). Today he sat back and then got through near the home turn before starting to wind up and reach fourth at the 200m in the gluey ground. His sustained finish saw him lead 20m out and win by half a length such was his momentum to record 2:27.49. It was his sixth win from twenty-six starts and he loves the heavy footing with his record on the deep stuff now seven starts for three wins and three placings. Pump Up The Volume was second in this race last year beaten eleven lengths behind Jochen Rindt with the weight gap between them then 7kg. Today the gap was 5kg and Pump Up The Volume sat back but ran home well while Jochen Rindt as usual led up and tried to slip away the run home. At the line three quarters of a length separated them and Jochen Rindt was the only on speed runner in the finish rider plus his rider may have gone a tad too soon and stayed hard on the inside, so the effort was even more meritorious. Stoker’s Rock was uber-brave after sitting sixth or seventh wide and then moving up fourth across the top, as he kept coming to finish just one and three-quarter lengths from the winner. Francis Drake boxed on for fifth after settling back and the rest then came home beaten six and a half lengths back all the way to over twenty-six lengths. This was not a strong field at all overall and contained some usual suspects in these sorts of races that seem to go around year after year hoping they get lucky.