3 minute read
Son of Foxwedge landed the Australian Guineas on Saturday
Lunar Fox (Foxwedge) returned a new peak Timeform rating of 113 when winning the Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m), up five pounds on his previous peak which came after his fifth place finish behind Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon) in the Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
A rating of 113 is very low for an Australian Guineas - something like four lengths shy of the level of form that has typically won the race. Going back to its inception in 1986 only Kenny's Best Pal (Bletchingly) and Ferlax (Pentire) have won the race with lower ratings, both running 112, in 1993 and 2013 respectively.
Tagaloa had run to 118 winning the lead-up when landing the CS Hayes (Gr 3, 1400m) but he failed to repeat, running to a rating of 111 when third in last Saturday’s Group 1.
Last year’s JJ Atkins Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) winner Rothfire (Rothesay) ran to 122 back in September when he landed the Run To The Rose Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m), and is the only horse from the three-year-old crop to break the 120-barrier.
Coolmore Stud Stakes (registered as Ascot Vale Stakes) winner September Run (Exceed And Excel) is rated 119+, while unbeaten New Zealand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Aegon (Sacred Falls) is rated 117+ and he opened his Australian account with a victory in the Hobartville Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m). The pair look the most likely candidates to topple Rothfire off the top of the three-year-old Timeform ratings before the season is out.
Cherry Tortoni (Night Of Thunder) - who finished second in the Australian Guineas - is the one most likely out of the Group 1 where he ran to 111+ after being set too big a task in the running - and not for the first time.
Cherry Tortoni's closing splits mark him down as the best horse on the day and with nothing (much) to show for it. A case could be made that he should be a winner of both the VRC Derby and the Australian Guineas and it's tempting to make that the lesson we learn from the Guineas. That Cherry Tortoni was the best horse there and looks sure to win a good race before the season is out.
