Campesino to cut down rivals in feature
CAMPESINO, BURDENED With joint topweight 57.0 kilos, has the pace nicely set up for him in this afternoon’s 1200-metre None Such Sprint.
At the handicaps, CAMPESINO has a sixpound swing on HOUDINI’S MAGIC, who beat him by three and a quarter lengths at 1400 metres in July’s Eros Trophy.
Running 11lb lighter than CAMPESINO that afternoon, HOUDINI’S MAGIC stunned even his trainer, Anthony Nunes, by making all with Wesley Henry at odds of 10-1. However, a nine-pound penalty now has HOUDINI’S MAGIC only five off CAMPESINO, plus he is drawn at postposition one, boxed in by lighter and faster horses.
CHACE THE GREAT, who used his speed to slip the field in the 1300-metre Seek Exercise Book Trophy race two Saturdays ago, is drawn alongside HOUDINI’S MAGIC and has a featherweight 49.5 kilos with apprentice Anthony Thomas.
Since fitted with a one-cup blinker in May, CHACE THE GREAT’s habit of drifting to the stands in the straight appears to have been remedied. At 49.5 kilos and drawn close to the rail, he is set to run a big race.
EQUALLY MATCHED
However, SIR BUDGET (50 kilos) and TALENTED TONY K (51.0) are equally fast, probably even quicker than CHACE THE GREAT, both blessed with consistent firstquarter splits of sub-23, which should ensure a torrid half-mile to the top of the lane.
CAMPESINO should relish the war up front. The seven-year-old rebounded from back-to-back losses on July 29 with an easy win against SEEKING MY DREAM and GARY GLITTER at 1000 metres straight.
CAMPESINO
Even at topweight 57.0 kilos, CAMPESINO still has the handicaps and pace in his favour. When beaten by TALENTED TONY K in May’s 1100metre Lotto Sprint, he was 16lb heavier than the speedster on a lightning-fast track, which resulted in a final time of 1:05.1.
In addition, CAMPESINO lost at least four lengths on the final bend, challenging wide at the top of the lane, while CHACE THE GREAT, who finished third, got a copybook turn with 49.0 kilos, running 18lb lighter.
CAMPESINO should be in seventh heaven stalking the pace. A powerful runon sprinter, even at seven years of age, he should be closing too fast for rivals over the last half-furlong of an ideal trip.
Horse of the Year SEEKING MY DREAM makes his second start in five months. The back-to-back Diamond Mile champion has been a shadow of himself at exercise since attempting to beat sprinters with topweight and is hard to back with joint topweight 57.0 kilos despite his immense class.