Father Patrick the horse to beat today
FATHER PATRICK won his last two races like an ‘A’ Class horse, the best he has ever been, and looks set to claim his place as a top handicapper this season.
Lining up against eight rivals at six and a half furlongs today, top-class winners SENTIENT and TOONA CILIATA included, FATHER PATRICK’s manner of victory in his last race makes him an automatic choice.
Going for back-to-back wins with leading rider, claiming jockey Oshane Nugent, FATHER PATRICK literally toyed with the field, clocked a solid 1:12.0, under a hand ride on January 16. Nugent never lifted his whip once as FATHER PATRICK won by a cheeky length and a quarter ahead of DUKE, flattery at its best.
Unlike the back end of last season and the first two meets of this year when the track was lightning-fast, DUKE’s 1:12.0 was on holding ground on which only another Ian Parsard runner, DOUBLE CROWN, has impressed for the past month.
As quick as ENGLAND’S ROSE professes to be, her 1:07.1, clocked two Sundays ago, tells the tale of the track after cracking splits of 22.4 and 45.3 for the first half mile.
ENGLAND’S ROSE more than likely will be calling the early shots, happy as a lark after ticking off back-to-back wins against slower rivals in the grade below.
However, she can only win from in front but won’t find this line-up that easy to evade, especially at a furlong longer with the likes of PATRIARCH and GOD OF LOVE to hound her.
The other speed horses, PATRIARCH and stablemate GOD OF LOVE, were both schooled by an awesome-looking FATHER PATRICK and will find it hard to turn the tables.
GRADED STAKES/ OPEN ALLOWANCE
TOONA CILIATA and SENTIENT are the top handicappers in the bastardised group, now called graded stakes/open allowance. Whereas Gary Subratie has kept Dane Nelson at topweight aboard SENTIENT, Anthony Nunes has called in a strong claiming jockey, Romario Spencer, slipping nine pounds, reducing TOONA CILIATA’s weight to 121lb.
The move is almost a drop in class without topweight for TOONA CILIATA. However, he didn’t appear himself in his last two runs, failing to quicken off the home turn, plus his preparation also appears suspect.
At topweight 126lb, SENTIENT may be on top of his game and dangerous. However, the pace will have to collapse for him to win with the big weight at six and a half.