Adelaide Derby – Grade I
The weather is turning cold and the winter is approaching in the south of Australia, which means it is derby and oaks time. This year, there will be a field of 9 assembled to contest the 12 furlong (2400m) Adelaide Derby, worth $500,000. The field is made up of mostly rapidly improving types, which are only just getting to their pet distances, which means this race could be the making and breaking of a few. A fine week has seen the turf look in magnificent condition, and a cracking race is expected, with a great deal of early pace in the race from the outside gates, and some late closers which could have the race set up nicely if it turns into a speed duel. None of the contenders have had Grade I glory yet, so it will be a big result for one lucky runner.<\/p>\n
Good luck to all trainers. Let\u2019s take a look at the runners.<\/p>\n
PP1 LONHRO DEEP GONE (LONHRO (AUS) x DEEP IMPACT (JPN) x GONE WEST) stickpin 10 4\/1
Son of stakes winning mare DISPARATE IMPACTS, who is also the dam of Grade I winner DEEP NAVIGATOR, this brown colt has been thereabouts in most of his races, and has shown he is adept on both dirt and turf. So far he just hasn\u2019t quite put it all together to get the success he deserves, winning only 2 from 12 starts, and yet to notch a win on turf, despite 4 strong attempts. Last start he switched back to turf after a 3rd placing in the Chicago Derby on dirt, and was stretched out to his longest journey so far (9.5 furlongs). He was doing his best work at the finish, coming from last of the field of 5, but was unable to go with the runaway winner of the Enough Knock Turf Route, having to settle for another 2nd placing. The extra distance suits here, and should be closing late.<\/p>\n
PP2 GIMME (TANINO GIMLET (JPN) x MEDAGLIA D’ORO x DISTORTED HUMOR) italst7 7\/2
Frankster has this up and coming star, by sire of the moment TANINO GIMLET, primed for this after crossing the Indian Ocean since his last start when he was a runaway winner in the Grade II South African Derby. Coming from the tail of the field, he was still 12 lengths from the leader at the 3rd call, before unleashing a massive finishing burst down the home stretch to score by 2 \u00bd lengths. It has been a sharp turnaround after his first 4 starts on dirt, where he was competitive, but found it tough to win. Since switching to turf, he has quickly stepped up from a maiden to a graded winner, and must be considered a top chance to add another derby title to his list of achievements.<\/p>\n
PP3 SHOGUN LODGE (DYNAFORMER x KINGMAMBO x SADLER’S WELLS) whobegotu 12\/1
Scratch bred blue blood from the Masterm stables has been gradually building up to a big race like this, having been improving with each run as he continues to step up in distance. Only 3 starts ago, he was sent out the red hot odds on favourite to break his maiden status on the polytrack surface over 9.5 furlongs, and toyed with an ordinary field, scoring by 2 lengths. He then made it back to back wins when he was switched back to turf over the same distance, finishing hard over the closing stages to get home by \u00bd length. Last time out he faced a tough assignment in a strong 10 furlong allowance, going out at 10\/1 and showing considerable improvement despite missing the board, with an SP 96 and a solid 4th. Rise in class will be a big test, but looks to have been waiting for the opportunity to get over more ground and could surprise.<\/p>\n
PP4 LOOKIN AT GHOSTS (LOOKIN AT LUCKY x GHOSTZAPPER x ALYDAR) win4fun 6\/1
Interesting move to switch this chestnut colt back for another try on turf against such a strong field, after his only attempt so far saw him beat only 2 home in the Grade II Miller Reef Stakes back in September last year. However, that was a sprint over 6 furlongs, and he has since scored a convincing win over 15 furlongs, so perhaps this is just the change up he has been waiting for. Went out hard last time in the Kid Vegas Dirt Route over 10 furlongs and pressed for the lead early, but was over run late after leading into the stretch. Before that he scored 4 out of 5 races against allowance fields of questionable quality. The distance suits. The change of surface is a gamble. Wouldn\u2019t be taking him lightly.<\/p>\n
PP5 DYNAMIC RANGE (DYNAFORMER x KINGMAMBO x DANZIG) newsim2 6\/1
Frankster\u2019s second runner in the field is this lightly raced bay colt, who in contrast to GIMME, will be out front setting the pace and giving something for that runner to chase down. At his second start he rose to 8.5 furlongs after a debut sprint and broke his maiden by almost 5 lengths. After a couple of solid allowance races, last time out he stepped up in distance in the Top Jimmy Turf Route over 10 furlongs against a pretty soft field, which he treated with contempt, sharing the lead early, before breaking clear and cruising to a 5 length win. Should be prominent early, and the extra distance should be of no concern. Looks a top chance.<\/p>\n
PP6 SKY FORCE (WORKFORCE (GB) x DANZIG x GONE WEST) rvd5 8\/1
The steep rise up in grade has been handled with ease since switching stables, going from a dirt sprint claimer 3rd placing, to a Grade II win on turf over 10 furlongs in only 2 starts. Sitting up just on the speed last time out, he poured the pressure on before approaching the home turn and raced away with an easy win in the Grade II The Griffen at Deauville. Before that he had his first start for his new trainer and easily accounted for an allowance field over 8.25 furlongs. The SP 102 he achieved last start gives all indication that he is up to the challenge of this tough event.<\/p>\n
PP7 FISH AND ANCHOR (SMART STRIKE (CAN) x GALILEO (IRE) x RAHY) museummile 4\/1
The class galloper in the race comes from the Spinround stables, and has the runs on the board since his early 2yo season. After taking a few tries to break his maiden, he quickly rose in grade, firstly winning a listed stakes, and then going within a \u00bd length of scoring in the Grade II The Champagne Mile. A creditable 4th in the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Juvenile Turf was his last run of 2012. His 4 starts so far this year have been against cracking fields, arguably superior to his rivals in this race. Stepping up to 10.5 furlongs in New Zealand in the Grade III Super Hero Role Playing Stakes, he sat forward of midfield early and then burst through with the split on the home turn to burn off the field and score by 2 lengths. He was found wanting in his next start in the Grade I The Japanese 2000 Guineas, and then moved up to a mile and a half and was run down late after leading into the stretch in the Grade I The Italian Derby, finishing 3rd. The one to beat again.<\/p>\n
PP8 MEDIADOR (UNBRIDLED’S SONG x GIANT’S CAUSEWAY x SADLER’S WELLS) oahaack 14\/1
The outsider of the field has had his career path turnaround quickly, coming from an average allowance placing against a field of only 3 other runners and an SP 84 just 3 starts ago, to contesting a Grade I event here. The catalyst for the change has been the form reversal that occurred since he started getting over some more ground. A dominant win against a poor field over 8.5 furlongs 2 starts back was a sign of things to come, when he stepped up to 9.5 furlongs last time out and monstered another small field with a 2 \u00bd length win and an SP 100. Is appreciating the rise in distance, but the rise in class will be the big test. <\/p>\n
PP9 TETE TORD (TIGER HILL (IRE) x REFUSE TO BEND (IRE) x MR. PROSPECTOR) sabbath3 9\/1
Undefeated front runner out of a Graded winning mare, who has not been tested so far in any of his 3 races, dominating all of them from gate to wire. Last time out, he moved up to 10.5 furlongs and had the gate speed to put close to 10 lengths on the field at the second call. He was eased down to cruise home by 2 \u00bc lengths, with an SP 104. His previous win was over 9.5 furlongs, where he went out 5 lengths in advance, and held steady throughout to score by 4. His first start was also a soft win, over a mile, where he held a 4 length lead at the 3rd call, and was never threatened. A big step up in class so early in his career, but the future looks bright, and based on what he has shown so far, he should have the speed from the gate to lead here and give himself every chance at an upset win.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Queensland-AUS (QLD) Sunday, June 09, 2013 — 3:00:00 PM EST | Race ID : 1050766<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":219,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16480\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}