Monday kickback – The Championships Day 1 Review

Beautiful sunshine greeted punters on the first day of The Championships at Randwick, which kicks off our Championships Day 1 Review.

Extraordinary performances on the racetrack proved that the excitement for a thrilling days racing was not misplaced.

The Australian Derby, TJ Smith, Doncaster Mile and Sires’ Produce were the feature G1 events but the winners were found everywhere.

Santa Ana Lane wins the TJ Smith

The highlight of our Championships Day 1 Review is the Victorian giant killer, Santa Ana Lane $7.70, who literally pulverized the best lineup of sprinters in Australia.

It was his fifth Group 1 victory and stamped a trip to Hong Kong and Royal Ascot in the coming months.

Well supported (unusually), he was labeled as a good thing by our Mayor who made it his “Weekend Special”.

Remarkable how many times the Mayor’s Weekend Special gets up, and often at good prices.

It pays to follow!

Placegetters, Osborne Bulls and Sunlight were super again, but no match for the winner on this occasion.

Microphone’s Sires’ Produce Stakes

The Sires’ Produce proved once again that the Godolphin team have a stranglehold on the 2YO ranks.

Microphone $4.60, runner up to his stablemate in the Golden Slipper, proved too strong for Loving Gaby, Castelvecchio and Kiamichi.

The Exceed and Excel colt from an Anabaa mare, may prove to be the best of his generation.

The omen was obvious to AFL fans, given that the “microphone cup” was to be played the following day between the Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast Suns.

The much-admired microphone lookalike, Jarrad Grant, was traded to the Suns after an infamous career at the Bulldogs.

Bolter wins Australian Derby

The Australian Derby was much anticipated but proved a little disappointing with a gelding from Kembla Grange winning the prize at $18.20.

Bred from American stock, Angel of Truth had won the Tulloch in the heavy going but was thought to lack the class required to win the Derby on firmer ground.

Like in the Tulloch, he beat Madison County with Surely Sacred in a largely forgettable race.

Brutal Doncaster

The Doncaster Mile was another race in which the winner was hard to catch.

Brutal came off a second to the mighty Winx, but this time won the race with authority.

Coming from barrier 21 (less scratchings), the 3YO O’Reilly colt burst to victory in the concluding stages. 

With G1 master jockey Glen Boss answering the call, we all should have been on.

Ringerdingding $3.10 eliminated from the Doncaster Mile, jumped into the Carbine Club and duly saluted.

Gallic Chieftain wins at $16

In this Championships Day 1 Review, the highlight of our Villagebet selection results is Gallic Chieftain winning the 5^th race at odds of $16.

The horse was largely ignored but had good form pointers, being third up from a spell and looking for distance.

He was scratched from Caulfield, taken up to Sydney, and looked absolutely perfect in the yard. 

With class jockey Damian Lane on board, it seemed like a perfect storm.

We made mention of some of the winners in our preview of the meeting but it was a difficult day for punters.

In the village, no-one in our “Quaddie for a coffee” competition managed to get the correct combination of numbers.

Last week’s winner, Voyager, was alive until the last leg in Sydney but missed out on the $5.20 winner Multaja.

All set for Winx’s final celebration

Next weekend is The Championships Day 2 with some terrific racing.

All eyes will be on champion Winx who will compete in her final race start before being sent to stud.

Winx is attempting her 33^rd straight win, a truly remarkable achievement.

It will be an emotional occasion for her fans who have admired her over her incredible career.

The $4 million event will be run over 2,000 metres under weight-for-age conditions.

Tags: raceday reviews, the championships

Category: Horse Racing