Gosford Race 1 – Pennypacker
Green as grass. That's exactly what Pennypacker was on Wednesday when contesting the Maiden Plate at Gosford over 1100m. Settling near the tail of the field from his outside gate, the Peter & Paul Snowden-trained three-year-old raced ungenerously for much of the going and proved a handful for Regan Bayliss. It wasn't until extricating to the outside when making the turn for home that the gelding finally stopped throwing his head around and somewhat began to knuckle down to his task. It was halfway down the straight before the son of Capitalist truly began to get stuck into his work and quickly took good ground off his rivals. Finishing hot on the winner's heels, Pennypacker was hard through the line and was soon alongside and then ahead of the winner shortly after the post. It might just take a pair of Blinkers to help this gelding focus but if he can, he will be shedding his maiden tag very soon.
Mornington Race 3 – Arctic Eagle
Once again, the ultimate gear change has proven a great success. After finishing six lengths adrift in seventh on debut earlier this month, the three-year-old son of Free Eagle was gelded in between runs and had the blinkers applied for the first time. Quickly taking a rearward position soon after being dispatched, Ben Melham and his mount remained at the tail of the field for much of the running. Hooking to the outside prior to straightening, Artic Eagle began to make inroads. Coming with the widest run in the dash home, the untapped gelding wanted to lay out but still managed to swiftly move up through the field and then take over in the concluding stages to score. Soft through the line, I think there's plenty more to come from Arctic Eagle.