By Adam Hamilton
The Menin Gate procession rolled-on with another major win in last night’s $150,000 Group 1 Queensland Derby (2680m).
And now the banter is on … what nickname should the mighty three-year-old from Birchip – a tiny town four hours north-west of Melbourne – have for the rest of his career.
Suggestions like the Birchip Bull, Birchip Brute, Birchip Beast or even Mallee Mauler – the Mallee being the region he’s from – are all gaining support.
Trainer Larry Eastman is happy to let that banter play out … he’s just focused on getting back home and priming the powerfully-built son of Somebeachsomewhere for his last big target of the season – the Breeders Crown.
Given Have Faith In Me won’t be at the Crown and Menin Gate has repeatedly beaten most of his major Crown rivals, he’s a clear top seed headed towards the final.
Menin Gate completed a hat-trick of majors in as many weeks when he dominated last night’s Queensland Derby.
In what was close to a replica of last week’s Gold Coast Derby, driver Chris Alford took him straight to the front from gate two without any fight at all and from there dictated his own terms.
Menin Gate went through the middle half in 60.6sec then charged home in 55.5 and 27.6sec to win by 6.1m in a solid 1min57.9sec mile rate for the long 2680m trip. Some said he wasn’t as sharp as the previous week.
If so, it’s probably understandable when you consider he won the Group 1 Vicbred final, Gold Coast Derby and now Queensland Derby on successive weekends.
Eastman is still adamant there is improvement to come for Crown time. There might need to be too because as impressive as Menin Gate has been, he’s been blessed with kind draws and able to lead in all three of those recent majors.
Give any horse a wide or back row draw and life gets a lot harder. Then there is a former Kiwi horse called My Kiwi Mate.
The high-priced Craig Demmler-trained import returns home from an extended Queensland campaign without a win, but his three runs (for two thirds and a second to Menin Gate last night) have been stunning.
In contrast to Menin Gate, My Kiwi Mate has battled horror draws. If you haven’t seen his runs, especially last night, take the time to look at the replay.
The mind boggles how the son of Bettors Delight was able to come from last, out very wide and still run second last night. He smashed the clock and did it out very wide.
My Kiwi Mate will learn heaps from his time in Queensland and looms as a major Crown contender.
Natalie Rasmussen mighty filly Fight For Glory capped a stellar season by running a ripper third in the Derby, just a week after winning the Queensland Oaks.
Stablemate Hug The Wind ran below his best in seventh spot.
Where is buzz pacer Bling It On at?
That’s what everyone was left asking following another below par run when a lacklustre third as favourite in the Group 2 4YO Championship (2138m) at Albion Park last night.
A week earlier he took charge of driver Luke McCarthy after being bustled out to lead and stopped to run last in the 4&5YO Championship.
That was excusable, but last night Bling It On had everything in his comfort zone and couldn’t finish-off.
He had a glorious three-wide cart into the race, was presented on the final bend and just laboured into third, some 7.4m from the very, very impressive winner Sweet Molly Oshea, who sat parked most of the race.
Maybe that “gut-buster” when he self-destructed in front the previous week took too much out of Bling It On?
Whatever, Luke and Belinda McCarthy have a decision to make … whether to turn him back out for a spell again or push-on and hope he regains his stunning best.
But let’s chat about the winner, a four-year-old Bernie Hewitt-trained mare, who has enjoyed a stellar rise through the ranks this season.
To sit parked in a 1min54.7sec mile rate for 2138m – splits of 29.6, 28.7, 28.4 and 28.6sec – and power away by 5.8m was breathtaking stuff.
She’s clearly on her way to becoming one of the best mares in Australia. It is fair to assume champion driver Gavin Lang went to Albion Park thinking he would come home with at least one win.
In the end, he landed a feature double with Philadelphia Man in the Blacks A Fake and Sweet Molly Oshea in the 4YO Championship.
But, amazingly, the one certainly most thought Lang would win on – brilliant filly Heavens Trend – got beaten as a $1.10 favourite in the Group 1 Qbred Triad final.
Well, to be precise, Heavens Trend beat herself. Just when she surged to the front and had her rivals easily covered approaching the final bend, she went into a gallop and caused chaos back through the field.
Lang finally got her going again, but the bird had flown. She rallied to run fourth.
The race went to the Shannon Price-trained local Special Moment, a $35.10 shot who posted a moderate 1min58sec mile rate for 1660m.
She was driven by Brad Cowen, who has enjoyed great success driving for Price, but recently announced he was leaving Queensland and returning to country NSW.
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