On The Watch
Strong winds see Hartnell break 14 year old track record in winning Epsom Handicap
And while the blustery conditions made it quite unpleasant for spectators, the day’s racing delivered some seemingly astonishing times and some noteworthy performances, headed by the eight-year-old Hartnell. Freshened by trainer James Cummings and focused on shorter trips, Hartnell returned to the winner’s list for the first time since February in scoring a narrow but... Read More
More from On The Watch
Little known gelding Eduardo stages a brilliant sectional times performance straight out of left-field
At only his third race start, Eduardo showed dazzling pace in leading, producing a 200 metre sectional breakdown (from the 1000m) of 10.03 and 10.13 – that is 400 metres in 20.16, the fastest 400 metres On The Watch can recall in the six year history of this column. Eduardo then went 11.11 for his... Read More
Strong pace saw Grunt produce a career-best performance in winning Makybe Diva Stakes
In fact, Timeform reacted by immediately elevating Grunt to a clear lead on their 2018-2019 Four-Year-Old tables after allotting him a high 125 rating after his impressive victory – the only horse to return a higher rating so far this season being Winx (Street Cry) [129+]. Grunt settled nicely under Damien Oliver, back in fifth... Read More
Nature Strip’s ratings now support what his sectional times have been indicating
Suggested as a worthy contender for the $13 million Everest (1200m) after his win in a three-year-old handicap (1100m) at Flemington on June 23, slot-holders for that race certainly did not rush offers of a start for Nature Strip who held a rating clearly below his likely rivals. At that stage Nature Strip had not... Read More
Surprise McNeil Stakes winner Native Soldier returns surprisingly fast sectional times
Having his first run since resuming with a third in the Vain Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) at Caulfield a fortnight earlier, Native Soldier started at odds of $15 but his performance in overcoming the outside barrier (15) and a hectic tempo, will not see him at such generous odds in the future. “I didn’t see... Read More
Theanswermyfriend runs deceptively fast mid-race sections in impressive Moonee Valley performance
A winner of one stakes race at Listed level in six wins from 22 starts, Theanswermyfriend is now in the stable of Darren Weir where the gelding has won two of his four starts for the leading trainer. Theanswermyfriend again went to the front on Saturday and after running along in the mid-stages he fought... Read More