Spirits lifted by Aussie performances
It was an uplifting weekend of racing for Go Racing with its two runners in Australia putting in super performances. We have a third bullet to fire, with new European import Mubariz racing second up at Rosehill on Wednesday after a super debut two weeks ago for third.
Three-year-old gelding Man of Sinn (Reliable Man x Sinnfonia) had a terrific debut over 1400 metres on the Gold Coast finishing second and just one less than a length from the winner of the race.
Ridden by Glen Colless from barrier 3 with a top weight of 60kgs, Man of Sinn began well and was ridden aggressively in the early stages of the race to take up a position just behind the leaders.
Racing Manager Albert Bosma was impressed with the youngster who still has a lot to learn. “He raced a bit keenly throughout the middle stages of the race and at the 800 metre mark he was fifth about four lengths off the leader. He looked to be under pressure with 600 metres to run but sprinted nicely once balanced-up in the straight and he kept up a strong gallop all the way to the line.”
Senior jockey Glen Colless got a good feel for the debutant who he characterized as a horse with plenty of upside. “He’s still a bit green and has plenty to learn, but he will take a lot of benefit out of the race and he will be better suited once stepped-up over more ground.”
Trainer Chris Waller was also happy with his debut effort. “He is far from the finished product but this effort was a great way to get his career underway and we look forward to getting Man of Sinn over longer distances in the future.”
His next race will be either a $27,500 set weight maiden over 1400 metres at the Gold Coast on the 9th of April with the back-up race being a $21,000 maiden 1500 metres at Ipswich on the 13th of April.
After a four week hiatus between runs, euro import Raqeeq proved he was still up to the task, finishing third over 2200 metres at Doomben. He has finished just 0.6 lengths from the winner of the race and 0.2 of a length from the second placed horse.
Says Albert, “Raqeeq jumped away well and jockey Matthew McGillivray settled him in a great spot, one out one back. He got a bit keen going down the back straight as there was only a moderate tempo set up front and I also think that this is where the four week gap between runs disadvantaged him as he was quite fresh. He was travelling well with 600 metres to run and Matthew presented him three wide at the top of the straight. He didn’t quite sprint as sharply as we had hoped for but the fact he had over-raced earlier possibly nullified his sprint. In saying that, he battled very bravely and the way he picked up when overtaken by the other two horses was very encouraging.”
While Chris thought the four week gap between runs counted against Raqeeq he was still more than happy with his run and was confident the race will take the freshness out of him.
Says Albert, “Chris wants to back Raqeeq up reasonably quickly and his next race will be a $50,000 benchmark 90 over 2200 metres at the Gold Coast on Thursday the 9th of April.”
New European import Mubariz races second up at Rosehill on Wednesday in a $50,000 colts and geldings 1500 metres with Brenton Avdulla in the saddle. He was an excellent first up third in Australia over 1400 metres on a soft track after travelling wide in the running with no luck, but hitting the line gamely.
He has a better draw on Wednesday in barrier 4 and while the heavy 8 track is an unknown, he has performed on soft going in his brief career to date. The extra 100 metres will help on Wednesday, although we won’t see the best of him until he gets out to 2000 metres and further. Go Racing has an excellent strike rate with Brenton Avdulla, so we take his booking as a great sign!
The race is the third at 2.35pm Sydney time and 4.35pm New Zealand time.