Thursday, February 28, 2008

Autumn Racing Carnival – Week 5

This Saturday sees the running of the Group 1 Futurity Stakes at Caulfield. For former star performer Miss Finland, it’s her last chance to prove herself as a race horse; otherwise she will be retired to the breeding barn. She was disappointing in the spring, winning only one race, and this autumn has not raced to expectations. There has been some criticism on the way Miss Finland was trained last year, and her trainer readily admits it was a mistake to try her out at longer distances. This year she is being aimed at middle distance races, so the Futurity, run over 1600 metres (a mile), should suit her down to the ground. Watching her performance this autumn in the shorter races, Miss Finland appears to be starting her run just as the race is about to finish. At present, she is the favourite for the Futurity – logical I suppose as she is the class horse in the field.

I made a few changes to my top 30 stable this week, seeing as how several of my selected runners have been retired or sustained injury, like Empire’s Choice, Wonderful World, Maldivian and Eremein. I’ve replaced them with Light Fantastic, Paratroopers, Sebring and Princess Coup.

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