High Flyer in Question

As with most two-year-old racing at this stage of the year there is the unknown factor which can produce an unexpected result. When you add a yielding surface and a step up in distance the race becomes more of a lottery than ever. As the betting suggested this years High Flyer Stakes – GP1 was up for grabs with the punters not knowing which was to turn, in the end it was False Memories who started favourite, however all runners had their supporters.

The winner, Buda for a Day (1^st), was sitting back in 10^th at the third call before releasing a powerful finishing bust which saw him overhaul the field and go onto win by 1¼ lengths. This win has seen him increase his undefeated turf starts to three and now holds the number one position on both the turf classic and turf long category ratings. Also making a ton of ground was Paper Jesus (2^nd), running back towards the rear of the field, Paper Jesus started to make ground from the four furlongs mark and on entering the straight pounced on the leaders before being run down by the eventual winner. Finishing in third place was the long-shot of the field, Piercing the Pack, after running handy throughout, he lost a little ground on his run towards the end after being caught by the first two.

Director Oftraffice (4^th) sat behind the leader in the early stages before taking the lead at the third call, once the pressure was applied the early effort showed and he struggled to stay in touch to finish fourth. Dixieland Dancer (5^th) sat back in last until the dying stages where he started to make ground late, in the end he left his run to late. Beelza Ca (6^th) made some ground towards the end but lacked the turn of speed needed when the pressure was applied. Race favourite, False Memories (7^th), raced mid-field throughout but never looked a real threat at any stage. Big Zak (8^th) made some ground in the concluding stages but could not go on with it at the end. Believe in Faith (9^th) came into this race undefeated and as expected jumped straight to the lead before collapsing to be well beaten at the finish.

Barb’s Deckhand (10^th) and Dancing Hall (11^th) both just plodded throughout without making any impact.  Tock Lock (12^th) was handy early before failing to go the distance to finish 10¼ lengths of the winner. Miner’s Light (13^th) lost ground at every call and Dr Well (14^th) with the outside post just had no answer when called upon to make an effort.

Due to the yielding surface and step up in distance for many of the runners all we can really take from this is the best horse won on the day. How this result sacks-up in races such as the Breeders Bowl is anybody’s guess. I am not convinced that all the performances are a true indication of the horses’ ability. While the first two were impressive I elect to hold my judgment on Dixeland Dancer, Beelza Ca, and Tock Locks who I believe they are much better then their performances suggests. I am willing to forget that many of these runners ever went around as the track surface may have been the major factor on the outcome than ability alone.

Post     Horse                           Jockey             Trainer             Win                  Place                Show

2          Buda For a Day            W.Moxley        Vicki                $22.90             $11.60             $8.60

10        Paper Jesus                  A.Ebert            Troy5                                       $15.10             $10.20

4          Piercing the Pack          A.Jewell           Corza2                                                             $12.30