3 minute read

We review all the ratings from a Group One triple header at Eagle Farm.

Kingsford Smith Cup – Joliestar

Big win from a seemingly impossible spot with Joliestar getting over the top of Zarastro and Golden Mile to notch up her third Group One victory.

She was still well off the leaders at the 200m but flew home off a strong speed, running her final 600m over a second (six lengths) faster than the second horse.

If anything, Zarastro up front has actually gone a bit too quick which dragged the finish out of most of these. If he'd paced it efficiently, I still think Joliestar would've been able to get over the top given J-Mac would've been able to settle a length closer.

Joliestar has run to a Racing & Sports rating of 117, which is five pounds off her peak rating of 122 she ran winning the Newmarket Handicap. It's also below her equal second peak of 120 she ran last start when second to the 122 rated Jimmysstar in the All Aged Stakes.

Sunshine In Paris won the other open sprint in Queensland, running to 116 when taking the Doomben 10,000. I noted post-race that only four open-age Group One sprints this century. had been won in a lower rating than that, which is a rating held by the lowest-rated Kingsford Smith winners.

Apache Chase and Vega One both ran to 116 when winning the Kingsford Smith, while Joliestar sits alongside Albert The Fat at 117.

The median winning rating for the race over the past 20 years is 121 so this is a down year, not just for this race. The sprinting division as a whole has been rating well below average compared to the strength in recent years of horses like Nature Strip, Eduardo, Santa Ana Lane etc.

Queensland Oaks – You Wahng

Third in the Australian Oaks behind Treasurethe Moment, You Wahng was given a sweet ride by Tommy Berry to take the Queensland Oaks and post a RAS rating of 107 in the process.

Berry got the pace basically spot on here, 0.1% off what would be considered 'perfect' and got everything out of You Whang in a solidly run race.

A rating of 107 is below average for a Queensland Oaks with the RAS ratings' list topped by subsequent Cups double winner Ethereal and subsequent New Zealand Stakes winner Scarlett Lady.

Winx ran to 113 in 2015 while more recent horses to have won the race include Duais (110), Gypsy Goddess (109), Socks Nation (107) and Youngstar (105).

All in all, a pretty typical Queensland Oaks for recent years. I don't think there are any in this field that have suggested they'll be a player in major races in the Spring, especially given the time was solid and this is as well as they've gone in the scenario.

The three-year-old fillies have been strong all year but in terms of middle distance/stayers, it's Treasurethe Moment and then daylight.

Queensland Derby – Maison Louis

Maison Louis won the Queensland Derby with a RAS rating of 110 despite a slower time figure than the Oaks which can be tricky. They came home much quicker but even still, the time figure is poor here.

It seems more horses in the Derby simply didn't stay or ran well below expectations than in the Oaks which had a tighter margin spread.

A rating of 110 is still well below average for a Queensland Derby which has taken between 119 and 105 to win this century.

That 119 was back in 2003 when Half Hennessy won by six lengths while other big margin winners De Gaulle Lane (118, 4-½) and Warmonger (116, 10-½) also rated much higher.

More recently, Kovalica (113) and Mr Quickie (112) have put up good ratings while Pinarello (106) and Sonntag (105) are on the other end of the spectrum.

Again, I can't see any of these progressing to/being remotely competitive in races that would typically be thought of for a Derby winner, such as a Caulfield Cup.