3 minute read
It's officially spring and the Feehan Stakes card at the Valley on Saturday looks a cracker.
There's something about the horses from the Apple Isle and The Valley. A production line of hard-running Tassie Tigers have had a steady stream of success around the tight-turning cauldron in recent years - none more so than The Cleaner who won the Feehan on this day in 2014 and 2015.
There is no Tasmanian representative in the Feehan this year but, inevitably, the Spirit Of Tasmania is still set to ferry a terrific winning chance across to the Valley.
The Inevitable is cut from the same Tassie cloth as so many of their Valley heroes. A fast, tough as teak, winning machine who thrives on the sort of end-to-end gallop that the Valley often brings about.
He rates highly on the strength of his Flemington return where he outmuscled a 1000m horse who had control. Once that turned into an armwrestle in testing conditions the result was, well, inevitable. He grit his teeth and got it done.
A month between runs is perfect off that hard fought success and this looks a better race for The Inevitable, albeit against deeper oppositon. Deeper it may be, but from the minimum his ratings stand tallest, and we are keen to back him to deliver again.
The feature is wide open, too open to stamp one our best, but we can find an each way play there in the form of The Chosen One.
There are little knocks on all of these, and he isn't without his queries either, being first up and tested outside his age group for the first time, but he does bring a nice profile to the race and his ratings aren't miles from where this looks like being won.
His profile hints at those ratings being on the upgrade and his stable always demand respect. That they linked up with Damien Lane to win this with a resuming four-year-old just two years ago doesn't make The Chosen One any faster but it's nice to see that sort of intent with one. Double figure prices are bouncing around and they look a gamble worth having.
THE MELBOURNE MAIL
Bet of the Day: Race 6 #10 The Inevitable @ $3.60
Each Way Play: Race 8 #14 The Chosen One @ $10.00
