Plague Stone’s fast times suggest he has a bright future after breaking through for first win
Resuming in the Rosebud Prelude (1000m), Plague Stone began awkwardly and was back in eighth place early on before Hugh Bowman settled the colt in fourth spot nearing the 600 metres, tracking a quick tempo.
He set out after the leader at the 200 metres and finished too well to score, seemingly with something in hand, by a half-length from the filly Witherspoon (Exceed And Excel), who had run a bold race in the lead, in the fast time of 56.84.
Plague Stone’s closing sectionals were outstanding even taking into account that is was a day of quick times at Randwick.
The colt clocking 43.12 for his last 800 metres, 32.66 (last 600 metres), 22.05 (last 400 metres) with his final 200 metres in 11.30.
Plague Stone was having his first start since March 10, and although he had not won in his prior four starts, he showed his talent when runner-up to the season’s top rated juvenile Written By (Written Tycoon) in the Blue Diamond Prelude (c&g) (Gr 3, 1100m) at Caulfield on February 10.
Trainer James Cummings is now expected to run Plague Stone next in The Rosebud (Listed, 1200) at Rosehill on August 11 with the colt showcasing his strong credentials.
Acknowledgment is due the second-placed filly Witherspoon as she clocked impressive mid-race sectionals in a smart first-up performance.
Cocked from the 800 metres, Witherspoon’s 200 metre breakdown was 10.41, 10.79 (400m in 21.20), 11.04 (600m in 32.24) with her final 200 metres in 11.55 to give her a last 800 metre time of 43.79. She is a filly to watch.
A pointer to the value of the form was the comparison of time to another Godolphin-raced winner on the programme Bandipur (Commands) who took out the Benchmark 80 Sprint (1000m) later in the day.
Bandipur, a three-year-old colt and winner of four of ten starts including the 2017 Lightning Stakes (Listed, 1000m) at Morphettville, covered the same distance in 57.53 – that was 0.69 seconds slower than Plague Stone’s 56.84.
In a good day for Godolphin, three-year-old gelding Gaulois (Street Cry) provided them with a third winner on the card when taking out the TAB Rewards Handicap, Benchmark 92 (1600m) in a time of 1:35.18.
After racing back in eighth place, Gaulois ran on too well to score by just over a length and take his record to four wins and nine placings from 16 starts.
Gaulois ran very smart closing sectionals with the final 1400 metres in 1:20.58, last 1200 metres in 1:09.19, last 1000 metres in 57.44, last 800 metres in 45.57, last 600 metres in 45.57, last 600 metres in 34.00 with his final 400 metres in 22.52.
The feature on the Randwick card, the July Sprint (1100m) saw another really smart performance on the watch with the impressive victory of Tactical Advantage (Bel Esprit).
Having his first start since joining the Kris Lees’ stable and resuming after a wind operation, Tactical Advantage was most impressive in running out a decisive winner by just over two lengths in a time of 1:02.53 for the 1100 metre journey.
That time represents at 200 metre rate of 11.36 and to put that into better perspective being a race over an odd distance of 1100 metres, it is equivalent to 1200 metres in 1:08.21.
Tactical Advantage was given a good trip by Brenton Avdulla, racing in fifth place between runners, tracking a quick tempo before moving up well on straightening.
He dashed to the front at the 200 metres and then raced away to score easily.
Tactical Advantage returned excellent closing sectional times with his final 1000 metres in a fast 55.44, last 800 metres in 43.91, last 600 metres in 33.38, last 400 metres in 22.35 with his final 200 metres in 11.45.
In the final race on the card, the Chris Waller-trained three-year-old colt Kaonic (Savabeel) returned to the winner’s list with a smart performance in taking out the Australian Turf Club Handicap, Benchmark 82 (1400m).
After settling well back in the field from a wide barrier tracking a solid pace, Kaonic came from tenth at the 600 metres, coming along the rails in the straight to score comfortably win by just under a length in a time for 1:22.78 for the 1400 metre journey.
Kaonic returned impressive final sectional times with his last 1200 metres in 1:08.22, last 1000 metres in 57.25, last 800 metres in 45.87, last 600 metres in 34.38 with his last 400 metres in 22.88.
He is a talented but lightly-raced colt that has now started eight times for three wins and two placings – a repeat of Saturday’s performance would see him build quickly on that record.