New Zealand Racing, 2010-11

[_ed_]

And he came back afterwards like he hadn't even had a race. He was throwing his head all over the place and prancing around. Amazing athlete.

He reminds me a lot of Xcellent. He looks a bit like him, they're both sons of Pentire, and he has that same powerful acceleration. I'm sure they'd be happy if he ended up being half as good, but they sound pretty confident he's something a bit special.

His main target is the Derby. Maybe he can be the first horse since 1990 to win both the 2000 Guineas and the Derby.

[_ed_]

Odds for the 2000 Guineas (6 Nov):

Barside 26.00
Cellarmaster 8.00
Charma 16.00
Down Town 101.00
Encosta Diablo 26.00
Flash Hapi 81.00
Galaxy Star 101.00
Go Go Dingo 126.00
Hammer Down 10.00
He's Remarkable 3.00
Hoofit 21.00
Icepin 31.00
Jetset Lad 101.00
Jimmy Choux 8.00
Maradona 26.00
Mr O'Ceirin 51.00
Pericles 151.00
Rememba Howe 26.00
Santos 41.00
Sweet Suitor 16.00
The Prince 101.00
Twilight Savings 12.00
Undisclosed 26.00
Upsala 81.00
We Are Royal 126.00
We Can Say It Now 6.00
Zennista 16.00

HR still a hot favourite. I think Jimmy, Cellarmaster and Hammer Down should all be a bit lower, and Upsala at 80 is crazy.

[my miss storm cat]

He is remarkable but I think he's beatable... I think he might lose once or twice before becoming the champion he looks to be.

I'm picking Jimmy to win (and will root for Upsala even if...).

(As of right now anyway).

Encosta Diablo... why do I remember that name? Did he once have a fantastic win or something?

[_ed_]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

Encosta Diablo... why do I remember that name? Did he once have a fantastic win or something?

He did! He won a big 2yo stakes race last November. He was undefeated as a 2yo, but hasn't been so great so far this season - two defeats in a row in minor stakes company.

He's also beautifully bred - half-brother to G1 winner Vapour Trail and G2 winner Santagostino.

He'd have a chance at his best, but he's not running well enough at the moment.

[my miss storm cat]

Not to sound too stupid here but I don't know those names!

Well I hope he does okay anyway... no idea why his name stayed with me.

Why did Katie scratch? Any idea?

[_ed_]

I think it was the weather forecast. She HATES wet tracks. They were predicting that it would be so amazingly bad. Opie decided to take 10 rides in NZ today instead of flying over to ride her, so that gave me a hint that she might not run today. Hopefully she'll get her day in the sun in Australia. But for now, at least WE know how good she is.

I don't blame you for not knowing most of the names! Apart from He's Remarkable, Cellarmaster, Jimmy Choux, WCSIN and the Wellington Guineas winner Barside (I don't think I pasted a link for that one. It was a very wet track, but a good win - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F2o9VnWzQc ), it's mostly a bunch of good winners at MUCH lower levels. I think most of those will be outclassed.

[_ed_]

It feels so close now! The field...

New Zealand 2000 Guineas
$1 million
1600m
3yo

1 33X21 Jimmy Choux 4 88 56.0 John Bary, Hastings
2 2X346 Cellarmaster 3 85 56.0 James McDonald (a) Kevin Gray, Copper Belt Lodge, Palmerston North
3 75171 Barside 15 80 56.0 Lisa Allpress Trent Busuttin, Cambridge
4 5X723 Icepin 17 80 56.0 Vinnie Colgan Jason Bridgman, Rangiora
5 61221 Undisclosed 18 80 56.0 Peter McKay, Matamata
6 1X114 Encosta Diablo 6 78 56.0 Chris Johnson Jason Bridgman, Rangiora
7 4X232 Charma 5 76 56.0 Leith Innes Graeme & Mark Sanders, Te Awamutu
8 311 Hammer Down 14 75 56.0 Stephen McKee, Ardmore
9 2X517 Hoofit 11 75 56.0 Stephen McKee, Ardmore
10 21891 Flash Hapi 1 74 56.0 Robert Hannam Kenny & Lisa Rae, Ruakaka
11 161 He's Remarkable 13 74 56.0 Matthew Cameron Roger James, Cambridge
12 23137 Maradona 9 74 56.0 Daniel Stackhouse (a) Andrew Campbell, Opaki
13 41302 Upsala 2 74 56.0 Paul Taylor Kenny & Lisa Rae, Ruakaka
14 6X120 Sweet Suitor 7 73 56.0 Darryl Bradley Graeme & Debbie Rogerson, Tuhikaramea
15 82315 Santos 16 68 56.0 John & Karen Parsons, Balcairn
16 111X1 Twilight Savings 12 85 54.5 Opie Bosson Murray & Bjorn Baker, Cambridge
17 X2114 Rememba Howe 10 84 54.5 Noel Harris Evan & J J Rayner, Wanganui
18 12X51 We Can Say It Now (AUS) 8 75 54.5 Mark Du Plessis Murray & Bjorn Baker, Cambridge
19 1X589 Jetset Lad 19 66 56.0 John Wheeler, New Plymouth

I have to be up at about 7am on Saturday morning to get my flight, and I won't get back until after 10pm that night, but it's gonna be worth it.

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by _ed_

He reminds me a lot of Xcellent.

Oh wow I didn't see this till now.

The highest complement.