black books and pay 2 follow
Well punters these are some horses to follow and what I saw out of the weekend racing
The raps were big on high priced colt Wodeton going into his debut at Rosehill on Saturday and they deserve to be bigger after a stunning debut.
It was visually impressive as he put four lengths on his rivals at the end of 1100m and the clock backed it up.Chris Waller points him next on the road to the Golden Slipper.
Will he have the curse and promise the world but deliver an atlas or will he be the real deal.
runner-up The Magic Man clocked 34.39 and tried hard after racing handy keep in mind
The Magic Man was the only other horse to break 12 seconds for the 400m-200m so his performance was solid and watch out for him when placed in something a bit easier.
Shohisha is clearly a filly who can progress beyond Midway grade this year though she’s only likely to race maybe once more this preparation, according to David Payne. Follow her into next run we won't get a price but she is a good one
The runner-up Lady Extreme has a Midway win in her, she’s had the misfortune of bumping into some more progressive types in this grade
Is Converge the next to break a run of outs after he chased home Osipenko in the Listed January Cup (2000m)? Unfortunately we'll have to wait as he's listed as spelling following the weekend.
But it was three sound runs on end from the two-time Group 1 winner, who hasn’t saluted since beating Anamoe in the Randwick Guineas in 2022, so he’s clearly found the consistency he’s been lacking for a while.
While Osipenko, who himself hadn’t won since April 2023, always looked the winner in the run there was no giving up the chase from Converge who ran the fastest last 200m of the race
The run by Gilded Water created some discussion after he made a long run from last in the 2400m Ranvet Handicap to land outside the lead only to be outsprinted by Tajanis who was afforded the trail when Jason Collett made his move.
Gilded Water couldn’t pick up when ambushed by McDonald but he did grind away to outstay everything else. Doing the work under the weight on a soft track not surprisingly took some toll with his last 200m but in the end the shit ride cost him
Godolphin trainer James Cummings isn’t wondering what might have been with classy colt Traffic Warden last spring and is confident he has that stallion making, win in him in 2025.
The three-year-old was sensationally scratched at the barriers when one of the favourites for the $20 million TAB Everest, won by Bella Nipotina, before ending his spring with an unplaced run in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes.
Traffic Warden is one of a number of stars set to kick off their autumn campaigns at Thursday’s Rosehill barrier trials and Cummings said he’s tracking nicely toward a first-up run in February. two-year-old winners Tempted and Comedy are engaged in separate heats.
After watching the impressive Wodeton win last weekend, Cummings said a benchmark has been set now in the juvenile ranks but he’s looking forward to sending the Kirkham Plate winner Comedy out against the Coolmore colt.
When asked to name a few from the camp he’s hopeful will enjoy fruitful autumn campaigns Cummings suggested lightly raced first-up winner Polyglot, stakes winner Commemorative, Five Diamonds winner Pericles, Oaks winner Zardozi and comeback kid Golden Mile.
Golden Mile, a Group 1 winner at three and Golden Eagle placegetter in 2023, has been gelded and returned to training after an injury prevented him from serving at stud.
WOW THESE JOCKS ARE A TOUGH BREED
Jockeys Beany Panya and Blake Spriggs were dislodged from their mounts when they fell rounding the home turn in Race 6 at Moruya on Friday (17th January).
[Update at 10:35am on Tueseay 21th January]: Beany Panya’s post spine fixation has been stable. She is experiencing some ongoing back pain however the neurosurgery team are happy with her progress.
Blake Spriggs has been settled overnight. He is still intubated in ICU however hoping to extubate today with pain management. His surgery went well with his clavicle and forearm yesterday.
[Update at 9:18am on Monday 20th January]: Beany has remained stable overnight following her spinal surgery yesterday. Blake remained stable overnight and will undergo a CT scan today to help assess his chest injuries.
[Update at 9pm on Sunday 19th January]: Beany underwent surgical fixation of her spine today and the surgery went well. Blake has continued to remain in stable condition.
[Update at 10am on Sunday 19th January]: Beany had her intubation tube removed and has been transferred into a ward. No further orthopaedic injuries have been identified and she’s awaiting a neurosurgery review this morning to determine whether she’ll undergo surgery fixation of her spine. Blake is still intubated but his condition has remained stable overnight.
[Update at 9:30pm on Saturday]: Beany is still drowsy but is improving, and neurosurgery has not committed to surgery fixation of her spine yet. Blake is showing signs of improvement and continues to be intubated in ICU. The orthopaedic team will possibly fix his fractured arm and clavicle either tomorrow, or may delay it a few more days.
[Update at 8:50pm on Friday ]: Blake has been intubated with chest and abdominal injuries that will require surgery. He also has fractures to his ribs and clavicle with Blake waiting for an assessment from a neurosurgeon.
[Update at 8:55am]: Beany has a thoracic spine fracture which may need surgery, but we are awaiting advice from the neurosurgeon. She also has a head injury which at this stage does not need surgery. She is in ICU and will continue to be monitored closely over the next 24 hours. Blake is in a critical condition and he will continue to be monitored closely over the next 24 hours.
[Update at 3:00pm Saturday]: Beany is still drowsy but she’s not showing any obvious neurological deficits at this stage, and she’s able to move her limbs. Neurosurgeons are still assessing whether she requires surgical fixation of her spine. At this stage, no other orthopaedic injuries have been noted. Blake continues to be intubated and sedated and being closely monitored in ICU.
Sheridan Clarke has been transported to the Alfred Hospital and will undergo scans following a fall during trackwork at Cranbourne on Monday morning.
The 30-year-old jockey sustained the injury while riding, prompting immediate medical attention.
According to a statement released by the VJA on Monday, the scans will help evaluate potential injuries to Clarke’s lower back and legs.
THE IM NOT CRYING YOU ARE AWARD GOES TOO BJORN BAKER
Little short of a juggernaut is how Bjorn Baker’s summer could be described and not even a delayed flight from Sydney to Gold Coast could hold him back from training a feature race winner.
O’ Ole, a son of Ole Kirk, strode to victory in the $3 million Magic Millions 2yo Classic (1200m) in a plan hatched with this race the sole aim of the campaign that also delivered a win in the Magic Millions feature at Wyong in December.
For jockey Tommy Berry, the win provided a fond reminder of his late brother’s success aboard Unencumbered in this race a decade earlier and Baker shared the depth of feeling.
“From day dot she’s shown amazing ability,” Baker said.
“She’s very much like Unencumbered and it was very emotional as she went past the post.
“I was thinking of Nathan Berry, gate three and Tommy rode. Everything lined up.
“Nathan, we miss him a lot.”
O’ Ole ($12) was purchased for $325,000 at the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale with Baker’s team holding few concerns in paying the price for a filly that caught their eyes.
“She was probably the filly at the sales last year that the whole team zeroed in on,” Jim Clarke said who is a part of Baker’s team.
“I probably didn’t expect to get there and fall in love with an Ole Kirk out of a Sepoy mare and pay that sort of money, but she had a phenomenal physique and every time we saw her parade perfectly.”Fortunately, she has done the same in her racing career so far.”
“Grateful to get here eventually and we watched the race in the cab on the way here,” Baker said.
“The cab driver thought we were mad.”
Stay tuned for all the tips and winners at Kensington Track tomorrow.
Get ya back side track side
