Punters post-race: Saturday racing in review, January 23 by James Lamb, Luke Sheehan & David Hocking Artorius dominated his rivals at Sandown Image: Getty
A Freedman-trained 2YO stole the show at Sandown, a Kiwi star enhanced her reputation even further, and we saw an all-time sick beat in Sydney. Star Performer
Levante in the Westbury Classic (Ellerslie R3)
Wins don t come much bigger than that of Levante s over the ditch at Ellerslie in the G2 Westbury Classic. The Ken Kelso-trained daughter of Proisir looked like she was in all sorts of bother at the 600m mark when dead-last in the 10-horse field, with plenty of lengths to make up and seemingly having hit a flat spot. But Collett then swung her out to the middle of the track upon straightening and asked Levante for the ultimate effort. It took a bit of riding to get her going but once she hit top gear the star Kiwi mare launched out of the ground to sweep past her rivals and score a surprisingly soft win
Budget breaker to debut at Caulfield Trainer Mathew Ellerton’’s eye for a yearling will be tested when Spicy makes her debut at Caulfield on Wednesday. Photo: AAP Image/George Salpigtidis.
Simon Zahra says he nearly had a car accident when he heard how much his training partner Mathew Ellerton paid for Fastnet Rock filly Spicy.
Ellerton went to $350,000 to secure Spicy at last year’s Gold Coast Magic Millions sale, far beyond the amount the Flemington-based duo paid for yearlings.
Then COVID-19 hit Australia, presenting the stable with the challenge of selling shares in its record purchase.
However, the pressure eased once Spicy had a jumpout in the spring.
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Hong Kong or the Australian Guineas are potential stops for Zac De Boss if the smart three-year-old can maintain his unbeaten record at Flemington on Saturday.
Zac De Boss won on debut at Geelong before proving too strong for older rivals at Caulfield last Saturday.
The gelding drops back to his own age group for The Mumm Royale (1400m) at Flemington.
A third straight win would give Zac De Boss’s connections plenty to consider. Do they take the Hong Kong offers or do they chase the $1 million prizemoney on offer in the Australian Guineas?
The Group 1 status of the Australian Guineas means little as Zac De Boss is a gelding.