By Nick Berney
Punters must wait until the final event at Kensington on Wednesday to see the clash between two lightly raced gallopers who will line up in the TAB Handicap (1100m).
The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Fire Star is set to improve sharply after his first-up run at Canterbury, which was full of merit.
Wolves is set to peak third-up in the James Squire Handicap at Kensington.
He only had the one soft trial leading into that event and was a savage drifter in the betting, indicating he could only come on from that effort.
The colt raced fresh, got pushed wide on the turn, losing his balance, but once he got his mind back on the job, he surged late and clocked one of the meeting’s fastest final 200m splits.
He can settle closer with the bigger track suiting and is proven on rain-affected ground.
In addition, he has strong form lines and contested the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes (1100m) last campaign, albeit being well beaten.
Three-year-old filly The Black Cloud is the early favourite after an impressive win on debut, and she bolted in at Gosford 20 days ago.
She did it on both ends, always facing the breeze at a fast tempo, and could still accelerate away from her rivals in style.
Further, she ran slick time relative to the day, and all key indicators suggest she can make the step from maiden grade.
Wolves profiles to peak third-up in the Benchmark 64 James Squire Handicap over 1550m after two brave performances this campaign.
The mare had too much to do last start at Canterbury after having multiple factors against her, but she still flashed home into second and beat the rest easily.
Wolves raced wide, wasn’t suited to the race shape, had to make a long-sustained sprint, and recorded the meeting’s fastest final 400m/200m splits.
She finds a winnable race with champion jockey James McDonald to do the steering and expect her to roll forward.
In addition, she has a solid record on rain-affected ground and her ratings support this.
The early favourite, Nanna’s Wish, is another galloper who will relish the wet ground and maps to have all favours from an inside draw.
Supplied by Racing NSW
Full form and race replays available at racingnsw.com.au
