GOLDEN ROSE - Rosehill, 1400m R8
The Golden Rose has taken over from the Caulfield Guineas as the stallion-making race for three-year-old colts over the last decade or so. Both races are still probably behind the Coolmore Stud Stakes on Derby Day later in the spring, but the Golden Rose being at 1400m beautifully combines the required attributes of speed and stamina.
This year’s race is a fascinating one, with one key form reference being the Run to the Rose which provides eight of the 13 runners, and then a handful of very different formlines converging into the one race.
Only three quarters of a length covered the first six runners home in the Run to the Rose, with even the seventh (Don Corleone) and eighth (Libertad) horses home being beaten less than two lengths. Blanket finishes are notoriously hard to trust as form references going forward, but any fair assessment of the race does suggest the winner Cylinder is the one to follow.
The race was run at such a tempo that every horse got their chance – the two leaders, Moravia and Butch Cassidy, were only nailed in the shadows of the post to finish second and fourth, while the two horses settling last, Nadal and Militarize, were also right there in that bunched finish, third and fifth respectively.
Cylinder was the only one who had bad luck of any kind, kept in a pocket for the best part of 300m in the straight while every other horse had clear running to attack the line if they were good enough. When the split finally came for Nash Rawiller on board, he was able to accelerate quickly enough to win. The front-runners couldn’t deny him, and the backmarkers couldn’t catch him.
King Colorado is the only one in the field that has taken on the older horses, running an unlucky ninth when beaten just under two and a half lengths in the Winx Stakes. He should have finished even closer to the likes of Fangirl, Princess Grace, Osipenko, Think It Over, Zaaki and company, horses that have already stood up in both Melbourne and Sydney’s WFA ranks this season. The Maher/Eustance camp do things their own way, with great success, so second-up five weeks between runs shouldn’t be a concern, and he is a known quantity at seven furlongs and beyond.
Charm Stone comes up from Melbourne, for the Price/Kent combination, who are looking to go back-to-back in this race after preparing Jacquinot for victory last year. She’s won two good races against the fillies down there, carrying big weights and drawing wide both times. She gets an inside draw now, but will need to see out a strong 1400m.
Encap has been coming through a different path than others in this field, taking on opposition that is considered more B-grade than what others have. He was unlucky twice behind Les Vampires and Tom Kitten, but finally had the breaks go his way when winning the Ming Dynasty with impressive acceleration. He’s in the mix somewhere.
That leaves the beautifully bred Shinzo is the x-factor runner of the race, particularly given he is a Golden Slipper winner resuming, but also for the fact that he is the only horse hitting the race first-up, so we haven’t seen him as a three-year-old. It’s a very unusual path for Chris Waller to take, hitting such a big race like this without a lead-up run or two, so we have to take it as a sign of confidence. Maybe he just blows them away?
The speed map looks a messy one, with no horse considered an out-and-out leader. Most of these have raced handy at different stages, but have also gone back, and the barrier draw hasn’t helped shed any light either. Golden Roses are usually run quickly though, so the winner will have called on their reserves of stamina in the last 200m of the race.
Selections: 1.King Colorado 2.Shinzo 3.Cylinder 4.Charm Stone
KING COLORADO
EACH-WAY
* Odds Correct At Time Of Posting. Check Playup Website For Latest Odds
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