Spring notes – first edition

A summary of the weekend’s racing and how the results will influence the rest of the spring carnivals in Melbourne and Sydney.

PB Lawrence Stakes

Whobegotyou and Lights Of Heaven dominated the betting and fought out the finish. Both horses performed right up to expectations in their first runs at the start of what shapes as a long and lucrative spring.

Whobegotyou won the race because of a stroke of luck and his renowned turn of foot. Jockey Damien Oliver was able to get him away from the rail into a wide, trailing position before the turn and the gelding swooped on the lead very quickly. Whobegotyou was set to win by a length and a half, but his condition gave out in the final 100 metres. I doubt Oliver would have wanted the race to be a further 50 metres. Lights Of Heaven lost no admirers in her first defeat – she was held up on the turn, but got motoring over the final bit.

Trainer Mark Kavanagh, who claimed he was excited but look more like a Port Adelaide supporter, said Whobegotyou wouldn’t race for a month – in the Group 2 Dato Tan Chin Nam (1600m, Moonee Valley) on September 10, a race the gelding has won convincingly in the past two years.

It’s a slightly different program for Whobegotyou, probably in an effort to have the horse primed for the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m, Moonee Valley) on October 22. In 2009, Whobegotyouy finished runner-up in the Lawrence (formerly the Liston), behind Predatory Pricer, and the Group 2 Memsie Stakes (1400m, Caulfield), behind Mic Mac, before heading to the Valley, his first three runs for the preparation spaced two weeks apart.

Last year, the chestnut resumed in the Memsie, finishing second behind So You Think, before winning the Dato Tan. Kavanagh said the 6YO was “fatter” than he has had the horse in the past, so it looks like a steady-as-he-goes approach to this spring.

Whobegotyou will be trying to emulate Shorengro by winning three Dato Tan Chin Nams (registered as the Feehan Stakes) – Shorengro did it in 1968-69-70, but that was in a period when the race was run as a handicap. A Whobegotyou treble will hold more credence.

Jockey Ben Melham got off Lights Of Heaven and said the mare was a deserved Caulfield Cup favourite, but trainer Peter Moody said she was on a Cox Plate program. I’ll go with Moody, who has long held the view that he doubts Lights Of Heaven is a genuine stayer. It will be interesting to see if he holds that line as the spring progresses. Lights Of Heaven, because of her ability to race close to the lead, looks an ideal Cox Plate horse.

Perhaps the performance of the ex-Tasmanian, Prince Obama, at $101, to finish a game and close third after racing on the pace detracts a little from the form line of the Lawrence as he is a restricted class galloper, but the Lawrence/Liston has a habit of throwing up a few surprises. By the end of the season, we may not pay the result a cursory glance.

Behind the first three were some encouraging performances for the future. Vesper looks a horse ready to take the next step. He has been taking along quietly by owner Lloyd Williams and there was specking at long odds ($51 into $31) that he would run well. He needs to win a decent race to get into the Caulfield Cup field. The Listed Cranbourne Cup (2025m, October 9) may suit him.

Guest Wing caught the eye with his eighth after being tailed off at the 600m. This much-travelled Group 2 Perth Cup (2400m) winner should have finished a lot closer after running into a few behinds in the straight. Guest Wing is a late-maturer who is obviously a lot better than most of us in the east have given him credit for.

He looks an ideal horse for the Group 2 Herbert Power Handicap (2400m, Caulfield) on October 8 or the Cranbourne Cup the following day. I have seen horses of inferior ability than Guest Wing run very well in the Caulfield Cup at long odds.

Vain Stakes

Thankfully Sepoy has returned from his winter break as good as we hoped he would be. He looked very special winning the Listed Vain Stakes (1100m). So many juveniles don’t make the transition into their three-year-old year, but Sepoy is bigger, stronger and every bit as good as he was when he won the Blue Diamond Stakes and Golden Slipper double in the autumn.

Sepoy, by an American stallion, Elusive Quality, not known for throwing late maturing horses, is a product of his very Australian dam line; he’s everything you see in the best of Australia’s sprinters – muscle, strength and power. And he possesses one of the best actions I have seen on a galloper. He covers the ground so effortlessly, and he pricks his ears as though it’s still all a game to him.

Sepoy is headed for a wonderful spring. Much of the speculation, unfortunately, will be around the “will-he or won’t-he” saga of a clash with Black Caviar – mooted as a possibility in the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m, Moonee Valley) on September 30 – but first he will run in the Group 2 Danehill Stakes (1200m, Flemington) on September 3.

So much media time and energy will be wasted asking the question of a Black Caviar-Sepoy bout despite trainer Peter Snowden so far showing a straight bat to every ball. I don’t care, in fact, I’d rather them stay apart so we can enjoy them in all their dominant glory.

In Sydney, Foxwedge looked impressive winning the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes (1000m, Rosehill), but would we be lauding him if Anise had nailed him on the line after giving him five lengths start? Either Anise is very good and very underrated or Foxwedge has still a bit to prove. I think the Foxwedge form is five or six lengths inferior to the Vain Stakes, so he has a fair bit of ground to make up.

Foxwedge is an impressive looking colt with plenty of talent, but I think he carries a reputation he doesn’t deserve at this stage – that boom isn’t helped by all the hype that is associated with him as a result of the profile-boosting he receives ahead a possible stud career.

Trainer John O’Shea is aiming the colt for the Group 1 Golden Rose (1400m, Rosehill) next month.

Anise, trained by Peter Snowden, will stay in Sydney for the Princess Series of races for fillies, culminating in the Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m, Randwick) on October 2.

Breeding lines

Whobegotyou (ch g 2005, Street Cry (USA)-Temple Of Peace (JPN), by Carnegie (IRE))
Lights Of Heaven (b m 2007, Zabeel (NZ)-I’m In Heaven (NZ), by Volksraad (GB))
Prince Obama (blk g 2006, Clangalang-Angelika, by Ark Regal (NZ))
Vesper (b or br g 2006, Zabeel (NZ)-Sylvaner (NZ), by Danasinga)
Guest Wing (br g 2006, Right Wing (IRE)-Lacienne, by Metal Storm (FR))
Sepoy (ch c 2008, Elusive Quality (USA)-Watchful, by Danehill (USA))
Foxwedge (b c 2008, Fastnet Rock-Forest Native (USA), by Forest Wildcat (USA))
Anise (b f 2008, General Nediym-Pimpinella, by Flying Spur)