Track downgrade catches Waller off guard
While happy to win the James H B Carr Stakes (1400m) with Konasana, leading trainer Chris Waller admitted he was disappointed with the deterioration of the Randwick track following early rain during the meeting.
The track started the day as a soft 5, but after heavy showers during the latter part of the morning, it was retrospectively downgraded to a heavy 8 after the first race and a heavy 9 after the second.
After doing an amazing job to race on the opening day of The Championships two weeks ago following a deluge of rain, Waller felt Randwick went downhill quickly on Saturday.
"We didn't expect to be running on a track like this," Waller said.
"The first two days were outstanding, but we've got to be able to handle rain on the day a little better.
"We are putting on a show that the racing world wants to see and we have to make sure it's better, particularly on these big occasions."
Konasana was prepared for a VRC Oaks campaign in the spring but didn't stay, prompting Waller to keep her to shorter distances this time around.
He was rewarded with the filly's first stakes success in Saturday's Group 3, 1400m feature, stablemate Scarlet Oak doing a good job to finish runner-up at just her second race start.
Mazu lands consolation win
The Sydney autumn carnival hasn't gone to plan for trainer Joe Pride, so he was happy to salvage a feature race win with recent stable addition Mazu.
Pride's Everest winner Think About It had a disappointing campaign, hampered by wide gates and tough runs before struggling to see out a strong 1600 metres under his big weight in the Doncaster Mile.
However, Mazu gave Pride something to smile about when he made the most of his favoured heavy track conditions to win the Group 3 Hall Mark Stakes (1200m).
"He had a wet track in the T J (Smith Stakes), but to be fair to him, he was a month between runs and at the back of a setback in not getting to run in The Galaxy," Pride said.
"Today he was that little bit harder and fitter and it was a lovely ride there from Jamie (Kah). Good result."
Pride confirmed Mazu was now likely to head to Queensland for a winter carnival campaign.
"Queensland would be the plan again," he said.
"We've got him back on track now. He probably does need wet tracks to do his very best."
Huetor on target for third Doomben Cup
Peter and Paul Snowden thought the worsening track conditions at Randwick might have come against classy gelding Huetor, so they were pleasantly surprised when he returned to winning form in Saturday's JRA Plate (2000m).
The seven-year-old had finished down the track first-up in the Doncaster Mile and while Paul Snowden said the effort was better than it seemed on paper, he was expecting the horse to improve from Saturday's run.
"It is a little shock because he has struggled on these heavy conditions before," Paul Snowden said.
"But obviously we're heading up to the Hollindale (Stakes) and the Doomben Cup and he's going up there in really good form."
The Queensland carnival has been a happy hunting ground for Huetor, who has won the past two renewals of the Group 1 Doomben Cup.
He is following a similar path north to the one he took 12 months ago when he finished third in the JRA Plate before beating all but Zaaki in the Hollindale Stakes, en route to claiming back-to-back Doomben Cup wins.
Final two races called off
Visibility concerns after persistent rainfall during All Aged Stakes day prompted officials to call off the final two races of the program.
The decision was made a short time after the running of the All Aged Stakes, won by Magic Time, which was the eighth race on the 10-race card.
The Catanach's Jewellers Handicap (1400m) and the Petaluma Handicap (1200m) were the two races not run.
"We've been fortunate, even though the rain has been persistent all day the rain has usually fallen not during a race," Racing NSW chief steward Steve Railton said.
"But rain did fall in that race (All Aged Stakes). The weather has deteriorated, the track has deteriorated, and we had a delegation of riders, particularly those who rode back in the field, who said that not only is footing an issue but visibility is quite bad now.
"So in the interests of safety we've decided to call off the last two races."
The track was downgraded from soft to a Heavy (8) retrospective after race 1 and to a Heavy (9) after the second race.
By the time the Group 1 Champagne Stakes and All Aged Stakes were both run the surface had deteriorated to a Heavy (10) rating.
Quote of the Day: "I couldn't see a thing. I can't imagine what he was seeing but he's tried his guts out. Just didn't handle the track." – Tyler Schiller after riding the unplaced Encap in the All Aged Stakes.
