Talented mudlark ready to romp
Pacorus looks well placed in the Kiwifruit Cup
Fit horses will be required to win at Tauranga today and our best bet is having his first start for six months.
Yes, that’s Irish, but there are exceptions to every rule.
And Mr Luigi ( No4, R4) won’t be as far away from his best form as you would imagine from a horse that has been half a year away from the races.
The talented mudder has had two barrier trials and won both impressively and i s the t ype who would be brought right to the edge with that preparation. He is a course winner and i s better than most of those facing him today.
Pacorus ( No2, R6) looks well placed in the Kiwifruit Cup. The Tauranga track copped heavy rain Thursday night and again yesterday. He can handle the worst of winter conditions and is another who has prevailed on the track. Last start he was left in front in the Wanganui Cup and did well to fight on for third on a track that was not as heavy and loose as he prefers. Katie McKeen ( No6) won this last year by a wide margin and on footing similar to that she will strike today. On the same 53kg weight she makes a fair amount of appeal, particularly as a last start winner.
Troy Harris has been riding exceptionally well in his recent comeback to raceday competition and he could start the day on the right note on the Tony Pike- trained Winkle Dancer ( No2, R1). He has been patiently handled and is a better horse for three trips to the races. Dragon Rio ( No4) looks a danger.
Arzak ( No4, R2) has great wet track stats and that makes him the choice. This is his pet distance and he is a course winner. Small field, but it is also a bit tricky. Local Adriatic Pearl ( No8) did not get the best of runs at Te Rapa last start and the track was better than she prefers. That definitely won’t be an issue today and she can turn her form around. All About Fun ( No5) is a real upsetter. He has had one run back and will be a lot fitter this time.
Amastar ( No6, R3) got back from a wide gate on this track last start and was never a chance to get into the race. He looked very good in the wet a few starts back and should be well suited today. The widish barrier this time will be an advantage. Last start Dynamic Eagle ( No4) was narrowly beaten by the likely favourite here Irish Mist ( No1), but he meets that horse 2.5kg better in the weight this time and that should be the difference.
Race 5 is the toughest on the card with most of the runners having claims. Visitor Sakura ( No7) has won two of his most recent three and loves the wet. The 2kg claim Alfred Chan removes from his back might be the winning of the race. Craftyeva ( No9) is a must for multiple bettors.
No Need ( No15, R7) is also in an earlier race, but looks better placed here. He is the first emergency, but would be unlucky not to get one scratching. He was narrowly beaten in a three- way fight at Ellerslie last start and is right on the verge of another win. Alamer ( No2) has more than a touch of ability and seems to have come solid as a 4- year- old.
Race 8, the filles and mares weightfor- age, is a very even line- up, made even more so with the entire line- up on 57kg. Heni ( No1) has attractive wet track form and followed a win with a good second to smart mare Gypsy Fair last time. That is good form for a race like this. New York Minute ( No6) drops into a similar category, winning her last visit to the races by 10 lengths. All five of her wins have been in rain- affected footing. Platinum Command ( No3) deserves respect. Tough line- up. If you’re behind on the punt spend plenty of time sorting out the last, Race 9. Road Trip ( No9) may not be the worst value bet. His first- up fourth last time was attractive and he would not need to improve a great deal to figure in this finish. Makarios ( No5), Don’t Breakmyheart ( No3) and Sound Works ( No8) are chances in a wide open event.
Age and experience are bringing out the best in the promising stayer Motuman ( No3, R5).
The four- year- old has been making all the right moves this preparation with two wins and a runner- up finish from his last three starts and he will look to add to his tally in the Zest 2100 at Tauranga today.
Motuman is prepared on the track by part- owner Wayne Carter, who said the gelding had benefited from a patient approach.
Motuman broke his maiden three runs back and was then second at Tauranga before he won by 12 lengths at Rotorua last month. Fallen Victorian racing identity Bill Vlahos scammed more than A$ 120 million ($ 125m) from members of his punting club through what was essentially a Ponzi scheme, a court has heard.
Vlahos faced the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday accused of defrauding hundreds of investors through his scam betting syndicate The Edge between 2008 and 2013.
Prosecutor Lisa Andrews said Vlahos, who i s charged with 373 counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception, was running “essentially a Ponzi scheme”, mostly via emails.
Named after 1920s Italian swindler Charles Ponzi, the scams use contributions from new investors rather than legitimate profits to keep cash flow going — until people stop joining.
Vlahos’s syndicate had more than 1000 members, including some of Melbourne’s top business people.
Punters believed their money was being placed on horse races and they were earning lucrative annual returns.
“Emails were distributed to the syndicate leaders, prompting them to continue to deposit funds,” Ms Andrews told the court.
“He sent out rather fulsome emails indicating what horses bets had been placed on.
“Then sends another follow up saying, ‘ This week we have had a win’.” But the prosecutor said these were fraudulent promises.
The syndicate collapsed in late 2013 when members wanted to cash out, and some lost more than A$ 1 million.
Vlahos previously faced a multimillion dollar civil lawsuit over the punting club’s collapse and he declared bankruptcy in December 2013.
He is due to return to court for a mention in November and a fourweek committal hearing has been scheduled for March 2018. A selection of New Zealand’s leading jockeys offer their best rides for the weekend and, where applicable, last week’s result.
Sensible Princess — Otaki ( race three) ( Our Bandit — 1st)
New York Minute — Tauranga ( race eight) ( Kaharau — 1st)
Flying Ibis — Riccarton ( race four) ( Combat Warrior — 1st)
Arzak — Tauranga ( race two) ( I See Red — 1st)
Dynamic Eagle — Tauranga ( race three) ( Deluxe Edition — 2nd) Otaki ( race four)
Irish Mist — Tauranga ( race three) ( Brookbars — 3rd) A more focused Veuve Clicquot improved on her debut run to open her account at Otaki yesterday and in doing so provided her sire Rock ‘ N’ Pop with his first success. The filly had been very green when beaten into third at Trentham earlier this month, but the addition of blinkers saw her safely home for the thick end of the stake in the New Zealand Bloodstock Insurance Pearl Series Race. “She’s got a wonderful physique, a big strong filly with a lot of natural muscle on her,” part- owner and trainer Tony Bambry said. Veuve Clicquot jumped well to sit outside the leader and she proved too strong in the run home under rider Jonathan Parkes for the favourite Nuclear Fusion. Mike Breslin is expecting more of the same from Heni in today’s Tauranga Classic. “She’s a reliable girl with a big heart,” he said. “She’s won on a Good 3 to a Heavy 11 and I’m really happy with her. “She’s won eight races now so the weight- for- age scale suits her.” Heni was a winner at Awapuni two runs back before the Towkay six- year- old finished runner- up in the North Island Challenge Stakes at Trentham. Breslin is also keen on Heni’s consistent stablemate Boxachocolates, who runs in the Zest 2100. “He’s very genuine and I think he can be a cups horse later this year,” he said. New Zealand group one winner Sound Proposition will have his first run for Kris Lees at Randwick today. The son of Savabeel, formerly prepared by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott, will step out in an open 1600m handicap with the in- form apprentice Rachel King booked for the ride. Sound Proposition changed stables after he was unplaced on a heavy track in the Doomben Cup and he has subsequently finished runner- up in a 1000m trial at Gosford. Joe Osborne has been confirmed as chief executive of Godolphin’s global racing operation on a permanent basis. He was acting in an interim role, replacing John Ferguson who resigned earlier this month after trainer Saeed bin Suroor publicly exposed tensions between his stable and that of Charlie Appleby. “It is an honour to be entrusted with this role and I look forward to working with our global team to achieve racing and breeding success for Sheikh Mohammed and his family,” Osborne said. Riccarton trainers Michael and Matthew Pitman hold a strong hand in the open sprint on their home track today. They will be represented in the Sonia & Garry Thompson Handicap by the in- form pair of Flying Ibis and Dynamic, with the latter getting the nod. “Dynamic is such an honest horse and he is more of a 1200 metre type than Flying Ibis,” Michael Pitman said. Parvesh Shaikh will lighten Dynamic’s load by two kilos and the apprentice has a fine record on the horse with three wins and two seconds from their last five outings. The unbeaten Manhattan Flame’s future has yet to be confirmed. The Shane Crawford- trained three- yearold followed up his Woodville debut win with an impressive victory at Pukekohe Park on Wednesday for Hong Kong owner Tony Chan. “Whether he passes a vet to get up there we’ll have to wait and see,” Crawford said.