Gold Coast Blackbookers and horses to follow from May 9

Steve Bennett

Editor

Last updated: 11 May 2026

Steve Bennett 11 May 2026

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These horses stood out from Saturday's meeting.
Pasima impressed with a strong late run after a long break.
St Gotthard displayed dominance, winning by four lengths in only his second start.
Cifrado pulled off a last-to-first win in Listed company after six months off.

Australian Horse Racing (ALLSPORT)

Steve Bennett picks out his blackbookers and horses to follow from Saturday racing at the Gold Coast on 9 May.
Who were the eyecatchers, who should you add to your black book for upcoming races and meetings and who do we recommended following in the weeks and months ahead?
Race 1: BM78 Hcp (1400m) – Pasima
Race 3: Ken Russell Memorial Classic (1200m) – St Gotthard
Race 9: ATC Trophy (1200m) – Cifrado

Who were the eyecatchers, who should you add to your black book for upcoming races and meetings and who do we recommended following in the weeks and months ahead?

Race 1: BM78 Hcp (1400m) – Pasima

The Pierro stallion resumed off a 17-week spell on Saturday and caught the eye with a fast finishing second in this event.

Settling back in the field, he was spotting the leader eight lengths on the turn and di well to make up most of that ground, finishing just 1.5 lengths from the even-money favourite on the line.

The five-year-old has won four of his past six starts and is already a winner when second-up.

Look for him over further ground from this point on.

Race 3: Ken Russell Memorial Classic (1200m) – St Gotthard

The Chris Waller-trained galloper made it two from two on Saturday when he destroyed his rivals in the Group 3 event.

At just his second race start, the Snitzel colt settled mid-field one off the fence before coming off heels on straightening where he showed an impressive turn-of-foot, taking over soon after then raced away to put four lengths on them over the line.

A $2.7 million purchase, the two-year-old has shown what he is capable of and looks to have a bright future on the track.

Race 9: ATC Trophy (1200m) – Cifrado

Arguably the run of the day came from the Rex Lipp-trained galloper who was first-up after almost six months off the scene and claimed a last-to-first victory in this Listed event.

From the outside gate (11), Tom Sherry eased him back to settle behind them all before tracking wide on the turn and after straightening as the widest runner, stormed home to grab victory on the line as a $14 chance.

Coming off back-to-back trial wins, he franked those efforts with this performance and looks set to go on with it from here.