Something old and new
THIS time last year even though Redkirk Warrior was a $ 31 chance, David Hayes was brimming with confidence about his chances in the Newmarket Handicap and he duly delivered.
Today Redkirk Warrior is one of five horses Hayes has in the Newmarket Handicap and he again has an air of confidence – but it’s spread among his team.
He’s split his quintet into two different categories in assessing their prospects.
“Redkirk Warrior, Catchy and Thronum are all in form and are great chances. I know their capabilities,” Hayes said.
“The other pair, So Si Bon and Fastnet Tempest, are having their first starts for me. I’m still learning about them but I wouldn’t run them in a race like the Newmarket unless I thought they could win.”
Redkirk Warrior at $ 7 is the shortest priced of the Hayes/ Hayes/ Dabernig’s team with Catchy and Thronum at $ 11, So Si Bon at $ 21 and Fastnet Tempest at $ 34.
Hayes said Redkirk Warrior loved the straight and he was good enough to make it consecutive Newmarket Handicap wins.
“It’s hard to go past him. I think placing blinkers on him as we did last start when he won the Lightning Stakes has made him into an even better horse.”
Hayes suggested that Catchy was being underestimated as a Newmarket chance.
“Her last run in the Oakleigh Plate was terrific. She missed the start and was held up and came home in the slower section of the track but she still finished off strongly. She’s in well on the handicaps.”
Hayes also said Catchy’s failure in the Coolmore Stakes last spring over 1200m at Flemington should be forgotten as she got flattened in that race.
Hayes said Thronum had incredible form for a horse with only 52.5kg in the Newmarket.
“He’s won at Group 2 weight- for- age and then got beaten a quarter of a length at Group 1 level.”
Thronum defeated So Si Bon and Fastnet Tempest narrowly in a recent Flemington 800m jump- out.
“Fastnet Tempest will win plenty of races and he’s well in on the weights. So Si Bon is also going well,” Hayes said.
He is also upbeat about his two Australian Cup gallopers, Harlem and Ventura Storm. Hayes said Harlem was off colour when he failed in the Peter Young Stakes and he expected him to find his best form.
“He’s back to his best, which is good enough to be in the finish as he showed with his firstup second to Gailo Chop,” he said.
Hayes has placed blinkers on Ventura Storm and said he expected him to run well.
“He’s run second to Winx and he relegated Humidor to third in that race so that’s a good formline,” he said.
Meanwhile, Anthony Freedman admits he’s in a quandary in assessing how his well credentialed ex- Japanese galloper Ambitious will perform at his Australian debut in the Australian Cup.
“All I can tell you is I’ll know a lot more about him after the race. Until then I’m not really sure,” Freedman said.
“He’s got serious form in Japan. He would be the best to have raced here from there,” Crispe said. Freedman said he was still learning about Ambitious, who has firmed from $ 21 into $ 18 with TAB for the Australian Cup.