Flemington Blackbookers February 14 – Horses to follow from Black Caviar Lightning Stakes Day

Hard Kick was one of the more impressive juvenile winners seen so far this season, taking out the Listed Talindert Stakes (1100m) in dominant front-running fashion. The Lindsay Park gelding rolled straight to the front from barrier four, controlled the tempo and then put the race beyond doubt with a sharp turn of foot at the 200m, scoring by 2.75 lengths while still looking full of running through the line. By All Too Hard, he has clearly taken a big step from his jump-outs to race day and shapes as a colt with genuine autumn upside. Whether they press on to the feature race for the Melbourne two-year-olds, the Blue Diamond, or take a slightly softer path, his professionalism and sustained gallop suggest he’ll measure up in better company.

Nice return by the Thousand Guineas (1600m) winner, Ole Dancer. The Moody/Coleman galloper was lining up for her first start since taking out the 1600m Group 1 last October and settled back in the small field on a moderate tempo that played into the hands of the race leader, Sass Appeal, who made it a hat-trick of wins. Ole Dancer was doing her best work late with the fastest last 600m, 400m and 200m. She looks set for a big campaign. 

Birdman was a bit of an eye-catcher in Race 7, which went the way of Cafe Milennium. The Ciaron Maher import is into his second year on Australian shores and claimed the Kingston Town Stakes (2000m) in Sydney last September before placing 6th in the Caulfield Cup. He is better known for his form over longer trips but didnt look out of place over the 1400m on Saturday, placing 4th. The five-year-old finished just under a lenght from the winner and arguably should have finished closer than that margin as he was held up and struggled for clear air from the 400m to the 200m before registering the fastest last 200m and the sixth fastest of the entire meeting. 

What a performance it was by Tentyris in the Black Caviar Lightning. The Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) winner backed his spring Group 1 win with a breathtaking display to confirm himself as Australia’s newest sprint star. He settled a clear last in the small field and was still several lengths off the leaders inside the 300m before unleashing a devastating turn of foot to reel them in. The three-year-old broke 21 seconds for his final 400 metres, underlining just how sharp that late surge was. Now a $2 favourite for the Newmarket Handicap, connections must decide whether to press on there given the likely weight penalty, while options such as Royal Ascot in June or a tilt at The Everest (1200m) later in the year also loom as tantalising targets.