As the song goes I'm always looking on the bright side of life despite failing to find a collect on a day of rough results in Perth on Saturday.
Overall times suggest the track played slower than its official soft (6) rating, while an average winning price of more than $12 made it a hard to find the right runners.
SAVERIO
Now this is getting ridiculous! After giving away too big a start and running on strongly when resuming from a long spell I was convinced Saverio would break his duck second-up on Saturday, doubling my wager once the change of tactics to race further forward was announced, yet somehow the gelding found himself well back again looking at plenty of rump steak. Forced to start his run wider around the turn he was unable to catch up to a strong winner and had to settle for second. What's most confusing is that prior to resuming Saverio had led and brained rivals in slick time in a barrier trial to suggest he has ample speed to take up a forward spot even under race conditions. Perhaps the step up to 1400 metres for one of the metro maidens programmed over the next two Saturdays will be what Saverio needs to finally break through. We can only hope.
Career record (9:0-4-2)
Race to look for – Maiden 1400m
JETOOMY
Be very forgiving of this Justin Warwick-trained gelding's seemingly disappointing fourth placing. Starting a lukewarm $4.20 favourite Jetoomy got back to the tail in a small field before the leaders dropped anchor to run the early portion of the 2100 metre journey in some of the slowest early splits seen over this distance in many seasons. Jetoomy is a talented gelding but he's certainly no Winx and his task of winning was essentially a mathematical impossibility, yet he still rattled off the best closing sectionals and was doing his best work through the line to finish only 2 1/2 lengths back. Jetoomy looks just about weighted out of Benchmark 66+ class for now so I'm predicting the gelding will step up to stronger grade where he will receive a lighter weight and can get a senior jockey back on board. Worth following.
Career record (24:6-2-4)
Race to look for – Benchmark 72+ staying race
BARAKI BEATS
It's not often a horse finishing last beaten 13 lengths goes into black books but it was a total forgive run from this Jim Taylor-trained gelding on Saturday. Several runners including Baraki Beats lunged at the front of the gates prior to the start before being taken out and reloaded. In their haste to get the race underway it appears jockey Ryan Hill and the barrier attendants quickly gave up on trying to refit a cantankerous Baraki Beats with the blindfold he usually wears in the gates and it resulted in the gelding bombing the start by many lengths. After over-racing badly at the tail in a strung out field his race was run long before straightening for home and he was seen walking across the line under no pressure. Baraki Beats is much closer to breaking through than first appears and with that seemingly poor last-start effort to his name we might get nice overs when next he steps out.
Career record (40:6-8-5)
Race to look for – Benchmark 72+ 1300-1400m
