Darren Weir trained Humidor, stormed the wire to win the first big raceday of the Melbourne's Spring Carnival. Many Everest contenders were left behind as the Teofilo colt provided top entertainment. The Gr.2 Blamey Stakes winner was no competition to Godolphin's golden boy Kementari.
No one will doubt for a minute that we are looking at a real Gr.1 horse. Kings Will Dream was a dream in the Lawrence and he was the sectional star with the fastest closing 800m (45.42), 600m (34.02), 400m (22.51) and 200m (11.51) from the back of the field.
The defending champ, Vega Magic did not offer the magic we are accustomed from him. Some whispers suggest he is storing it all up for The Everest 2018. He finished a long neck away from the winner.
The lone mare in the race, Oregon's Day settled out the back and finished powerfully to be beaten just under a length.
Black Heart Bart almost looked like he was going to revert to old form and land a sixth Group 1 win. Alas! he has a long way to go interms of fitness improvement to come. We expected a lot more from the Gr.1 Australian Guineas winner Grunt. Perhaps we can see him shine when he defends his title next time.
Jungle Edge and Dollar For Dollar butted heads. Last year Jungle Edge tackled the Gr.1 Moir Stakes fresh. It looked like he did not like the weather and trainer Mick Bell will do well to monitor the weather forecast before plotting his next run. Dollar For Dollar was completely outclassed and would be better suited for Group 2 and Group 3 races.
Jamie Kah was positive early and positioned him outside the leader, Jungle Edge. He gave some cheek between the 300m and the 200m when he briefly took the lead but stopped pretty quickly. Plenty of easier races at Group 2 and Group 3 level for him around over the next two months.
Happy Clapper and Showtime were both disappointing.
Distance: 1,400 metres, Surface: Turf, Qualification: Three-year-old and older that are not maidens, Weight: Weight for age, Purse: $1,000,000 (2017)