Lanett makes it look easy
ONE of last season’s better two-year-olds, Gee Gee Lanett, resumed racing with an emphatic win against older horses to confirm her status as a genuine 3YO Cup prospect.
Gee Gee Lanett won four of her nine starts last season and ended her campaign with a game second to stablemate Geegee Blackprince in the Sires Produce over 1400m in May.
The Wordsmith filly easily won a trial last Tuesday but it was nothing compared to the ease with which she dispensed with a line-up of older and more experienced sprinters yesterday – and her trainer Stuart Gandy was impressed.
“You always hope the good two-year-olds can come back and be good at three, but from what this filly showed today I’m sure there are good things ahead,” Gandy said.
“We’ll see how she comes through this race before making any form plans for the immediate future, but we are definitely looking at the 3YO Cup as an option and if she can get a bit of ground we’ll aim her at the Thousand Guineas for starters.” SPREYTON trainer David Miller might have to reassess his plans for talented middledistance performer Underplay following the gelding’s impressive win in a Benchmark 82 handicap over 2100m at Elwick yesterday.
Underplay toyed with his rivals, scoring untroubled by 6½ lengths from Bidirectional and Into The Night on a good fourrated track.
Miller had intended aiming the son of Written Tycoon at some of the feature races over 1600m but given the ease with which he handled his first try at 2100m, the targets could be the Devonport and Hobart cups.
“I tested him at 1600m and he handled that well but I was unsure if he would be as dominant over 2100m so the best way was to put him in one [2100m race] to find out, so now we know,” Miller said.
Underplay led then took a trail behind the speedy Miss Hissy while Into The Night trailed in third spot ahead of Bidirectional and Cheryl’s Horse that tailed the field.
Approaching the home turn, Miss Hissy capitulated and apprentice Chris Graham sent Underplay to the front and he extended his lead all the way up the home straight. NORTHERN Soul broke through for his first win in Tasmania when he powered his way to an effortless victory in a Benchmark 68 handicap over 1600m.
The Teagan Keys-trained grey gelding arrived in Tasmania in July and proceeded to place at his first three starts in the state on the synthetic in Devonport, but he was more at home on the grass.
“We had planned to run him in Hobart but the meeting was transferred to Devonport so this is the first time we’ve been able to get him into a race on the turf,” Keys said.
“He’s a nice horse with a bit of scope for improvement, so I would hope he could pick up at least one more win this prep.”