Barriers can make or break chances in big races, and the right ball from the barrel has Vilana ready to show his best in the $1 million The Hunter at Newcastle on Saturday.
The Hallowed Crown four-year-old was brilliant winning the Silver Eagle, where an inside draw allowed him to take up a position in the first half of the field and use his explosive turn of foot for an easy win.
Vilana has the draw to get the right run in The Hunter at Newcastle on Saturday.Credit:Getty
That advantage was nullified when he went from an $8 chance in the Golden Eagle (1500m0 before the barrier draw to starting at $16 as a result of an outside barrier that dictated the way he was ridden and where he could be in the field.
But the barrier gods have served up gate nine in the 16-horse field for the 1300m feature at Broadmeadow, which will jockey Nash Rawiller the chance to again take up a perfect position.
“You should just put a line through that last run. Forget about it,” Rawiller said.
“He never got into a rhythm like he did [in the Silver Eagle]. We were trapped outside Mr Mozart for a long time before we blended into the race.
“He was never comfortable. He is better than that, and he gets his chance to show it in The Hunter.”
The fact that Vilana picked off more than half the field in the Golden Eagle was a good effort, but he was never a winning factor as I Wish I Win ran away from him to victory in the $10 million contest.
Rawiller believes Vilana is capable of again showing the explosive turn of foot that had the Silver Eagle won in a couple of strides.
“He should get the same sort of run to use that turn of foot,” Rawiller said. “If he is comfortable and in a rhythm, he can be very good.”
The $1 million affair is far from an afterthought for James Cummings, who has measured the preparation to arrive third-up into it.
“I really like the 1500m back to 1300 for him,” Cummings said. “He was good late in the Golden Eagle, a race he was never really in.
“From a good gate at 1300m, he should be able to find a good spot and get his chance. We can be a bit more aggressive from that barrier with a very fit horse and, with the right run, he puts himself in the finish.”
Godolphin will also have Gravina and Ingratiating in The Hunter, which Cummings won the first edition of with Savatiano in 2019.
“We threw Ingratiating in the deep end in The Everest and he didn’t handle it. This race is probably more at his level and he has trialled well since,” Cummings said. “I have to say I was disappointed with Gravina at Flemington. I don’t know whether to put it down to not handling the straight or not.
“He gets in with no weight, so we go into a $1 million race with three good chances.”
Vilana and In The Congo are fighting for favouritism in The Hunter, but that would become a moot point if Waihaha Falls gains a start. The fourth emergency is a $5 chance when not guaranteed run but would become favourite if scratchings fall his way.
“Of course, we would like to be in The Hunter, but we need a lot of help to get a run,” O’Shea said. “It is the race we targeted with him, and I think with 52kg he would be right in it. It just shows you the strength of the race that we look like missing out.
“I’m confident whatever race he runs in he is going to be hard to beat. Even with 61½ kilos in the benchmark 88, our rating still have him clearly on top.”
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