The winning form shone through again this weekend with three winners in three states for OTI on Saturday, with Fastnet Tempest taking out the Group 3 R A Lee Stakes at Morphettville, Grey Lion winning the Listed Lord Mayor’s Cup at Randwick and Mantastic powering home from last to win an Open Handicap at Flemington. On Sunday, Harbour Views made it a fourth win for the weekend, demolishing his rivals in his second career start, remaining undefeated in his first Australian preparation.
At Royal Randwick, Grey Lion notched up his second black type win in as many starts, diving in a head bobbing finish for the Listed Lord Mayor’s Cup over 2000m. Having only won one race in three years before joining the Matthew Smith stable, he has now scored successive stakes wins.
Randwick’s feature staying race was a thrilling contest with five runners separated by less than a length on the line but Grey Lion simply refused to let his rivals beat him. Under siege from the top of the straight, he refused to surrender the lead, holding off a brave Girl Tuesday to win by a nose with Live And Free a long head away third, just in front of the fast-finishing Black On Gold and Abdon.
Smith has only taken over the training of Grey Lion this preparation and from just three starts for the trainer the former French stayer has backed up his win in the Group 3 JRA Plate at Randwick with another being his Lord Mayors Cup triumph.
Jockey Kathy O’Hara had nothing but praise for the horse; “He is such a clean-winded horse and even though this run will tighten him up he has pulled up fantastically well.
“By keeping him happy and fresh at home and they have found the key to him. He was really good today, he was very tough,’’ O’Hara said. “When he was challenged he really lifted and fought hard the last 50m”.
We are looking forward to the rest of the campaign with Smith aiming Grey Lion at the Group 2 Brisbane Cup over 2400m at Eagle Farm next month.
Not to be outdone on Saturday, Fastnet Tempest also notched up his second consecutive win securing a fast finishing triumph in the Group 3 R A Lee Stakes over 1600m at Morphettville in Adelaide. Settling just off the pace, jockey Andrew Mallyon rode him an absolute treat, with Fastnet Tempest working to find the line, winning by almost two lengths.
Ben Hayes stated after the race that “he is a tricky horse who was starting to come second all the time, so it was nice to see him put his nose forward and win this race.
“It was a good race to win and a fantastic ride by Andrew. Fastnet Tempest is a horse that only has a short sprint so he held him and used it well”.
Gaining plenty of confidence from his last win at Flemington he put them to bed late, winning dominantly and running out a strong mile. We look forward to seeing where this horse goes next for the Lindsay Park Racing stable and his connections.
Mantastic rounded out Saturday’s winners, taking out the Vo Rogue Hall of Fame Trophy over 2000m. Despite missing the kick out of the barriers, Craig Newitt found himself at the tail of the field and was able to get Mantastic into a comfortable rhythm. Not worrying coming into the turn, Craig allowed the horse to progress through his gears – flying home in less than 35 seconds for the final 600m.
Clocking sub 12 second sectionals for a majority of the race, the horse proved his class in being able to maintain an incredible speed throughout, yet show the tenacity to win from last. Chris Waller is impressed with the horse’s ability and is excited to see how much more he has in the tank for the spring feature races.
That being said, the horse has acquired a well-earned holiday before stepping out in the better class races for his connections in the coming months.
Sunday at Bendigo also proved fruitful with Harbour Views winning his second consecutive race, taking his career record to two from two. With huge wraps on the horse since his first start, he certainly didn’t disappoint, being sent around a $1.60 favourite.
Fresh off a stakes double, including a Doomben Cup win, John Allen travelled back to Victoria overnight just to ride Harbour Views. Allen put the horse in a positive spot from the barrier before taking control of the race as they entered the home straight. Despite only being ridden out for a matter of strides, the gelding swiftly put three lengths on his rivals before being eased up to the line.
A horse with an incredible turn of foot and simply sensational raw ability, Harbour Views looks to be a star of the future. With further race experience and miles in his legs, we are looking forward to seeing just how far this horse can go.
Big congratulations to the connections of each of the horses that won over the weekend, we hope to see their winning ways continue in the weeks and months to come!