A dominant performance by Patriarch, as Peaky Blinders emerges
RACE ONE – The race day of Saturday, March 5, 2022, started with a facile win by the USA-bred Classical Orb, who was winning his second race from six starts. It was another well-timed ride from Dane Nelson, as he throttled Classical Orb on the inside until they reached the lane and then pounced. Nelson does not ride often for trainer Ian Parsard, so it was encouraging to see the two combining for this win.
RACE TWO – Six horses were nominated in the second, with the field cut down to four following the late withdrawal of Peking Cruz and Ajita. With only four horses doing battle, the way was paved for foreigner Crafty and Ready, and he did not disappoint his connections by providing Nelson and Parsard with their second as they became the top achievers after two races. Not surprisingly Crafty and Ready was claimed for $1 million by trainer Alford Brown. The early speculation is for the Parsard, Nelson duo to continue manufacturing winners until the latter decides to return to riding in Canada.
RACE THREE – The success of Nina Dorada again brought to the fore the particular skill of jockey Raddesh Roman when he rides from in front. Roman got Nina Dorada on the headlines in quick order, with nothing much to do afterward. Nina Dorada continued the consistent form of trainer Lawrence Freemantle, especially since mid-year of 2021. It also meant a return to the winners’ circle for Roman, who was winning his first race in 2022 from 13 rides. Nina Dorada won at odds of 13-1, to become the first upsetter on the day to rattle punters.
RACE FOUR – As expected Three Times Lucky (Anthony Thomas) trained by Jason DaCosta dealt accordingly with rivals in her first claiming attempt, but this victory did not come about without anxiety. Leaving her starting stall, Three Times Lucky stumbled with Thomas just able to get her straightened before going on to win. This is the third occasion over the last two race days that the same situation has confronted Thomas. On Ash Wednesday, there were the cases of She’s My Destiny and then with Mr Lyndhurst. Three different horses but the same occurrence. On She’s My Destiny, while Thomas got the filly to recover, she was never able to get into serious contention. Mr Lyndhurst raced at the back of the field before surging in the straight for an exciting victory. Three Times Lucky was claimed for $525,000 by trainer Errol Burke. DaCosta was the only of the top three trainers on the top 10 list with a victory on this race day.
RACE FIVE – Big Argument provided the second upset at 11-1 with Kiaman McGregor in the saddle for trainer Edward Stanberry. Apart from the searing odds, the main point of interest was the winning jockey. When McGregor started his career, he displayed good riding tendencies and soon the winners flowed. Then he went completely off the boil somewhere close to the last quarter of 2020, with 2021 being a year to forget for the young rider. The same trend has continued in 2022, with McGregor winning for the first time from just eight rides.
RACE SIX – This was another event that was decimated by late non-starters. Ten horses had booked their places, only to be reduced to seven following the absence of Puskas, Golden Emperor, and Ali. This left an easy job for Anaso with Daniel Satchell in the saddle for trainer Ryan Darby. As the race ended Satchell had to jump off to guide home a lame Anaso. This was the sixth win from 47 career starts by Anaso. For a struggling Satchell, it was a welcome return to the winners’ enclosure.
RACE SEVEN – This was a three-year-old maiden call won by first-timer Peaky Blinders. THE QUICK GALLOPER will be analysing this race in a separate article.
RACE EIGHT – The riding ability of jockey Oneil Mullings continues to shine, as this veteran reinsman continued his new winning lease on life with victory on the Marlon Anderson trained Colawill. It was a relatively easy win for the combination, to give Mullings his fifth and Anderson his fourth in 2022.
RACE NINE – Patriarch earned his fourth win in succession and with it the rise to the undisputed sprint king in the land. THE QUICK GALLOPER will be dealing with the achievements of Patriarch in another article.
RACE TEN – Above Hall Links proved to be the real upsetter winning at odds of 37-1, with the win bet paying the handy sum of $1,932. The win by Above Hall Links was the first start in 2022 for trainer Welsh Soutar. Little wonder many carryovers are available going into the next weekend of racing.
