By Neil Evans
The weather is clearing, the track is improving, and big fields have gathered for Tuesday’s feature Goulburn meeting, but the most talked about runner may well be one having his first run for nearly a year.
Talented three-year-old Midori Fuji hasn’t started since a Saturday in mid-October 2021 when as a two-year-old he debuted in the feature Kirkham Plate at Randwick.
The son of dual Group 1 winner Kermadec was beaten a long way that day before abruptly sent back to the paddock and given plenty more time to strengthen and mature.
More significantly, Warwick Farm trainer Bjorn Baker decided to geld him, and later trial in blinkers, and naturally connections are expecting a vastly different youngster to re-emerge at Goulburn.
Trainer Bjorn Baker.Credit:Getty
And Midori Fuji has looked sharp, winning both lead-up trials on good and heavy ground, the latest at Kembla producing good mid-race acceleration and finding the line.
Yet this long-awaited first-up run won’t come without some tidy challengers.
Several other metropolitan stables are expecting big improvement from their runners, most notably Snitzel three-year-old Leica Storm who did his best work late first-up at Newcastle 17 days ago, while four-year-old mare Savanaci is tipped to improve sharply from an even effort on debut at the provincials.
And keen trial watchers will also be tracking the performance of Savabeel colt Saveadateforme, who makes his long-awaited debut for the John O’Shea yard behind a string of trials, winning the latest at Hawkesbury over 1000m.
Meanwhile, provincial racing’s “nursery rhyme” galloper can launch third-up at Goulburn in a competitive Benchmark 58 battle over the mile.
Izfallingdown, a six-year-old Hawkesbury-based mare, is by US Group 2 winner London Bridge, and so the lullaby goes. But is she a fair lady?
A Class 1 maiden winner at big odds in Canberra back in April, Izfallingdown resumed with a fair closing effort at home in stringer grade four weeks ago.
She then went to Bathrust coming back to BM 58 class, and did her best work late after being backed from $7 into $5.50 in a wide betting affair.
But the training partnership of Tara and Phillipe Vigouroux have stepped the mare up sharply to 1600m and placed her back on a bigger track, and she looms as one of the better each-way chances across the meeting.
Supplied by Racing NSW
