Sandown Blackbookers May 23 – Horses to Follow & Key Runs

Here are our blackbookers and horses to follow from the action.

Nice debut by Stars Of Dom in the opener. The Team Hayes galloper attracted strong late support, firming from $21 into $16, and settled worse than midfield before balancing up nicely in the straight and charging home with the fastest final 200m and the second-fastest late split of the entire meeting. The winner, Divine Dot, has now taken out her first two starts and may be sent north for the Queensland carnival. She enjoyed the run of the race on a soft tempo and also had the advantage of race experience, but the runner-up lost no admirers with the performance. With natural improvement to come, Stars Of Dom looks capable of going one better at her next start and should be winning one of her next few races.

She was a little disappointing as a $3 chance but I wouldn’t give up on Shockletz just yet after the Ciaron Maher mare could only manage 4th in Race 4. After having to be reshod prior to the race and causing a slight delay, the lightly raced four-year-old drifted back in the small field on what proved to be an unsuitable tempo. The 1800m contest turned into a sit-sprint as they swung for home and she lacked the acceleration at the key stage, but she did regather to produce the fastest final 200m of the race. A winner of six from 14 starts, she shapes as one to follow deeper into the preparation and over further ground.

Winnasedge is a horse to follow over his next couple of starts in similar company. The Nick Ryan-trained gelding resumed from a lengthy spell with a fast-finishing 6th behind Dreamzel, beaten just over a length after running into some traffic through the early and middle stages. Near the 700m he was checked to avoid the heels of Hello Romeo, which had been hampered and carried wider by Dreamzel. Despite the interruption, Winnasedge closed off strongly to record the fastest final 200m of the entire meeting. His best form has come over the 1200m, including a dominant all-the-way win in the VOBIS Gold Dash ahead of She’s Got Pizazz last year, and he looks capable of returning to the winners’ list as his fitness improves.

Mometz looks ready to win again after a strong improvement second-up behind Duchess Zou. The Moody/Coleman galloper was slow to begin and settled well back before being held up for clear running between the 500m and 400m, eventually charging home with the fastest final 200m of the race. There was a significant gap back to the 3rd placegetter, adding merit to the performance after finishing last first-up at Flemington when resuming. After managing just one win from his first 10 starts, Mometz appeared to come of age during his previous preparation, winning three of four starts and showing he may be a late maturer. His two most recent victories have both come over 1600m, including a Benchmark 84 win at Flemington, and he looks well placed to continue that progression as his fitness builds this campaign.