This is a wonderful race – a really good competitive race with some potential superstars engaged. As punters we have to decide between what we have seen, what we have heard and whether or not certain ‘boom’ horses are as good as other ‘boom’ horses. There are only nine horses in the races, but there is a clear case for at least seven of them, including Divine Calling, a $21 chance that has been sent down by Gai. However most punters will no doubt be flipping a coin and deciding between Miracles of Life and Prince Harada. But then again we have Fast ‘n’ Rocking who was a moral beaten at last start; and Thermal Current who Nolen is on despite Peter Moody having also having Il Cavallo in the race.
Miracles of Life is the obvious choice. She has had four starts and two trials in her career to date. Her combined winning margin for these six competitive outings is 33 lengths; that is over 5 lengths per win. She is a gun as demonstrated by her Blue Diamond win when the racing world seemed to doubt her. If Peter Snowden or Gai Waterhouse trained this horse she would be $1.80 in this race, but there is still the ‘unknown mystery’ factor about a filly from Adelaide. She has obviously come back well with a 7 length trial win over a horse named Éclair Big Bang who won first up. Miracles of Life might be one of the success stories of the spring and she will be mighty hard to beat on Saturday.
Prince Harada is the boom colt of the spring. He is unbeaten and his trainer who is a very good judge has declared him a gun. However he is at this stage just a ‘spruik’ horse. He has only won a race at Ballarat and a non-black type race at Moonee Valley. He will have to have improved and come back really well to beat Miracles of Life, and he probably has.
Il Cavello had a big ‘boom’ on him after he won a 900m race at Sandown in course record time as a two-year-old. But how many two-year-old races do they run at Sandown? He then went to Sydney and was beaten as an odds on favourite after he missed a run in the Slipper. First up this time in he was again beaten as the favourite and punters have clearly jumped off this week considering he is $14. He has been favourite in all his three starts but now he is $14. That has to be a little enticing considering Moody has always had a big opinion of the colt. Because Il Cavello is a colt, his inconsistent performances can be forgiven just a little; he is at this stage an early spring three-year-old who is akin to a 16-year-old boy. He just may turn up and throw in his best and his best might be good enough for a place or even to push the favourites.
Then there are the rest. Fast ‘n’ Rocking is a maiden but has been very unlucky so far in his career; however he does seem destined for bigger and better things over longer distances. The Derby maybe? Divine Calling was not beaten far behind Zoustar during the winter and that is really good Group One form. Divine Calling is flying on the track and is one of very few grey horses in the Waterhouse stable. Thermal Current has not missed a place in his four start career. His last start resulted in a very easy win in a race at Geelong. This is a huge jump in class but on his recent form he can potentially mix it with a few of his rivals. The booking of Nolen is the best guide. Pyrrolic has only had one start and it was a great win at Sandown in May. Glen Boss rode that day and he is back on Saturday so who knows, but surely he would have to be something very special to win this race. Orion is probably looking towards the Derby and will most likely drop out to last and run home. That leaves Za Moulin Rouge who is one from one after a very dominant victory at Morphettville.
Verdict.
It has to be Miracles of Life. She has won at Caulfield, she is very fast and she is a Group One winner. The colts will give her a big run for her money but her turn of foot might leave her off and gone by the time they get rolling.
4th. Divine Calling. It is not often we can get $21 about a really talented Waterhouse runner so he is probably worth a little each way bet.
3rd. Il Cavello. This colt’s best is very special; it is just a matter of him producing it on a regular basis.
2nd. Prince Harada. Tony Vasil is not one for exaggeration and he really rates this colt. A few years back Haradasun (this colt’s dad) was a certainty beaten in this very race after finding plenty of trouble while Miss Finland was out in front and strode home. Will history repeat? The boom colt vs the flying filly?
1st. Miracles of Life. Results don’t lie. She is four from four and no horse has even really got close to her in a race or a trial. It will take a very good colt to get past her on Saturday.
By Zeb Armstrong
