Age has hardly sapped the speed of the nine-year-old Eduardo, which in equine terms is old enough to president of the United States.
Eduardo will be out to blister the youngsters in the Concorde Stakes at Randwick on Saturday on a program that dwarfs the corresponding Moonee Valley meeting.
Eduardo (left) leaves Nature Strip in his wake in one of their clashes.Credit:Getty
Despite the Sydney events lacking group 1 status, they are rich with potential and proven top-liners like Zaaki, which is favourite in the group 2 Tramway (1400m).
Eduardo heads the benchmark assessments of the program with Zaaki on 118, and the veteran’s record of 27 starts for 11 wins and 10 placings – including decisions over Nature Strip – confirm trainer Joe Pride’s knack with old-timers. Zaaki takes on the up-and-coming four-year-olds Profondo and Converge.
Another four-year-old, Benaud, clashes in the group 2 Chelmsford
(1600m) with the lightly raced Great Britain import Surefire, which could be anything in the highest possible sense. Against them, four-time group 1 winner Montefilia is far better performed but resuming, thus has a fitness query.
With sprints very much the current preferred flavour, the 1000m Concorde at group 3 level is worth $500,000 while the two group 2 events are $250,000 races, which is still a big buck away from Gulargambone and Birdsville races set down for this weekend but under siege from a jigger, rain and flies.
“Galar” had its biggest crowd in decades, no less than 700, for the $10,000 Cup. Pro rata it did better than recent Randwick and Rosehill meetings, thus confirming the popularity of the once-a-year dates where prizemoney is not the major lure.
In many aspects country racing is booming, but, bush bound last week, turf enthusiasts I met maintained that racecourse surfaces like Mudgee and Wellington needed Racing NSW financial assistance, which would support more people and horses than a $1 million added to the prizemoney of a major race. Country trainers conditioning on goat tracks now have to compete with city slickers who have the benefit of far better facilities.
Des Kennedy is the lord mayor of Mudgee but his airborne Kosciuszko contender Commando Hunt is prepared at Scone by Cameron Crockett, who has Pure Fuego, which is a top hope in the Randwick Highway.
Surefire gets a chance to show his potential in the Chelmsford.Credit:Getty
Mudgee, which was for so long a thriving turf centre where Gooree Stud flourished for decades, had to switch to Dubbo last Sunday due to the track condition.
Even then durable horse players had already headed towards the Simpson Desert for the Birdsville races. Obviously, prizemoney doesn’t play a role there either. At one stage, word circulated that Birdsville was rained in, not rained out. It isn’t going to be a record crowd. Flies, though, are in great abundance.
Alas, during the week a jockey was pictured on horseback handling something more battery than insect swatter in a track gallop. Jockey and trainer have been suspended. Horses scratched.
A Melbourne Cup winning trainer was outed over similar and highly illegal galvanic gear applied to encourage horses to do their best.
The Tramway, where Zaaki amongst others takes on Profundo and Converge, and the Chelmsford, where Surefire rises to weight-for-age against Benaud and Montefilia, are intriguing.
Returning after a spell, Profundo (second) and Benaud (sixth) were outstanding behind Anamoe in the 1400m Winx Stakes at Randwick recently. But will that race take the sprinting edge off them, as they are possibly better suited over longer journeys?
Eduardo and Zaaki have the credentials with odds to match, and Surefire the potential. Beware, though, of the rail placement: seven metres out for the entire circuit. Hardly perfect but not dirt like Birdsville, which even awash is really buzzing.
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter
