Anjana shows Group potential in chasing strong pace to score easily at Moonee Valley
Now unbeaten in three starts after wins last month at Wangaratta and Ballarat, Anjana stepped up to metropolitan class on Saturday and succeeded in a manner to prompt connections to set her for the Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) at Caulfield in the spring.
Anjana was reasonably away from the barrier and after being fifth in the early stages, her rider Damian Lane advanced her gradually along the rails behind the solid pace to eventually race in third place before edging into clear running at the home turn.
The filly then drew right away over the closing stages to win easily by three lengths, seemingly with plenty in hand, suggesting the 1600 metres of that fillies’ Group One feature is well within her capabilities next preparation.
Clocked from the 1000 metres, Anjana’s 200 metre breakdown on the soft 5 track was impressive: 10.85, 11.60 (400m in 22.45), 11.83 (600m in 34.28), 12.06 (800m in 46.34) and 11.66 to give her a quick 58 seconds for her final 1000 metres.
The juvenile race at Saturday’s Rosehill meeting also saw a talented two-year-old, although he failed narrowly, the Team Hawkes-trained colt Diplomatico (Snitzel) who was a late-closing second who also impressed on the watch.
Racing on debut, Diplomatico raced in sixth place until Brenton Avdulla took him deep rounding the home turn. However the colt then showed his inexperience by racing a bit greenly, yet failed by only a half-head in running down the unbeaten and game Ronstar (Zoustar).
Diplomatico’s closing sectional times really took the eye with his last 600 metres in 33.87, last 400 metres in 22.05 with his final 200 metres in 11.00.
A $1.7 million purchase by George Moore at the 2017 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sales, Diplomatico is raced by a number of owners, headed by leading Hong Kong trainer John Moore.
At the Sunshine Coast’s feature meeting, the Toby Edmonds-trained two-year-old filly Granny Red Shoes (Not A Single Doubt) staged an excellent performance in overcoming a difficult barrier and traffic problems before winning the Oxlade Stakes (Listed, 1200m).
Eased immediately from her outside barrier (13) by Jeff Lloyd, Granny Red Shoes remained near the tail of the field until the leading rider looked for a split between runners on straightening.
Eventually, Lloyd was able to get the filly into clear running at the 100m and Granny Red Shoes then showed a sparkling turn of foot, quickly dashing away to score easily by two lengths.
Daily Sectionals clocked Granny Red Shows, on the soft 7 track, to run her final 800 metres in 47.48, last 600 metres in 36.32, last 400 metres in 24.08 with her final 200 metres in 12.28.
It was the Segenhoe Thoroughbreds-raced filly’s first stakes success after being runner–up twice previously at Listed level and Granny Red Shoes is another juvenile capable of being effective in Group class in the spring.
In the preceding race at the Sunshine Coast, the John Thompson-trained gelding Commander (Pierro) was another juvenile to demonstrate his spring potential, staging a solid staying performance in winning The Phoenix Two-Year-Old (Listed, 1600m).
Having only his third race start, Commander tracked the leader Miss Sara (Mahisara) who set a good pace, before drawing away over the latter stages to score decisively by two lengths on the Soft 7 track.
In the P J O’Shea Stakes (Gr 2, 2200m), the Chris Waller-trained Egg Tart (Sebring) scored her first win since taking out last year’s Queensland Oaks (Gr 1, 2200m) at Doomben in July last year in easily defeating a moderate Group Two class field.
However, Egg Tart’s closing times in running on from back in the field suggested her performance was still noteworthy and a pointer to further success in the spring.
Daily Sectionals clocked Egg Tart to run her last 1000 metres in 1:01.04, last 800 metres in 48.12,last 600 metres in 36.30, last 400 metres 24.02 with her final 200 metres in 12.22 on the soft 6 track.
Connections subsequently announced that Egg Tart would spell with the Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) as her likely spring target.
And while he is unlikely to be set for the Melbourne Spring Carnival, the locally-trained sprinter Tarzan (Drumbeats) showed he is a talented and underrated sprinter capable of further stakes success after his first up win in the Lightning Handicap (Listed, 1000m).
The Stuart Kendrick-trained five-year-old gelding, who started at odds of $16.00, showed brilliant early pace from a wide barrier (10) before crossing to the lead.
He then fought off challengers and did well in going on to score by just over a length in the good time of 59.32 on the affected track.
Daily Sectionals clocked Tarzan’s 200 metre breakdown (from the 800m): 10.76, 11.48 (400m in 22.24), 11.44 (600m in 33.68) with his final 200 metres in 12.16 to give him an impressive 45.84 for his final 800 metres.
Tarzan is the winner of ten of 23 starts and the consistent sprinter should continue to be effective, especially in Queensland, now that he has broken through in stakes class.
Sunshine Coast sectional times provided by www.dailysectionals.com.au