By Mike Dillon
Lance O'Sullivan has answered some white-hot pressure this week, but the screw
tightens even further at Trentham on Saturday.
If O'Sullivan is to complete a clean sweep of the group one events at the Wellington Cup carnival he has to win Saturday's two features on horses he has yet to ride on raceday.
Is that a disadvantage? With one of the races being the Wellington Cup you would have to say, on paper at least, yes.
O'Sullivan considered Honourable as his $300,000 Fosters Wellington Cup mount only when Laurie Laxon offered him the choice between the mare and stablemate Denholm.
A huge plus is that Laxon is certain the pairing will be close to perfect.
Oregon Power is a great ride for O'Sullivan in the $150,000 Thorndon Mile.
The huge chestnut has been ridden recently by Michelle Wenn and Damien Oliver for a Te Rapa win and a terrific second to what turned out to be an unbeatable Tall Poppy in the big metric mile at the Ellerslie carnival.
Trentham will suit the athletic Oregon Power perfectly.
The O'Sullivan comeback is already set in concrete, but to win the Oaks, Telegraph, Thordon Mile and Wellington Cup would be something they will write about for years.
It has almost certainly never come even close to being achieved.
Watson wins big
There is no end to the bloke.
Eric Watson scored perhaps the biggest bookmaker body blow of what has been a completely one-sided fight when his Oaks-winning filly Grand Archway returned to racing at Moonee Valley on Tuesday night and scored a group one 1200m sprint win.
And you will not be surprised to learn Eric Watson had the bookies bleeding.
Watson has scored some huge financial hits on bookmakers through Grand Archway taking a double at the Melbourne Cup carnival then again when his juvenile Cullen scored impressively in Melbourne last Saturday.
This time bookies took a huge gamble against Grand Archway, letting Watson have a punt at 12-1.
"When was the last time a filly came out of the Oaks and won a 1200m group one sprint at her next start?" groaned Brian Taylor, manager for leading bookie Michael Eskander, who fields Watson's betting.
"You'd probably bet it was 1884, but someone's come up with a filly that apparently did it in 1974.
"You've got to bet against them doing it for the first time in 25 years."
Grand Archway, under Shane Dye, came with an irresistible finishing burst to completely overpower the leaders in the final stages, providing further evidence that Moonee Valley's tight circuit can lend itself to horses who can build up momentum.
The filly's win added further to the enormous success currently being enjoyed by trainer Graeme Rogerson.
Yearling auction unites industry
The breeding and racing industries are never going to be more closely entwined than they will be at Trentham on Saturday on the eve of our premier yearling auction.
Peter Vela and Patrick Hogan, the two principal players through a week's selling of yearlings at Karaka, are a strong chance to be the owners of the two favourites when the field leaves the birdcage for the $300,000 Fosters Wellington Cup.
Hogan's Irish Chance has been favourite for the Cup since winning the Blue Star Auckland Cup and Honourable, raced by New Zealand Bloodstock chairman Peter Vela, is gradually shortening in odds now Lance O'Sullivan is declared as her rider.
With the best of New Zealand's young blue bloods already arriving at Karaka, the tension and excitement is building for what will be a great yearling sale starting Tuesday night, but Vela and Hogan will step aside from their Karaka obligations on Saturday.
"There's an obligation for an owner to be on course for a race like the Wellington Cup," Hogan said yesterday.
Hogan's co-owner, Sir Michael Fay, these days lives in Europe. He missed being at Ellerslie for the Auckland Cup and has arranged to hear a 3.50am radio broadcast of Saturday's Cup via a phone link.
Cambridge ready for Karaka
Patrick Hogan moved into Karaka on Tuesday night with the 52 yearlings Cambridge Stud will market through the premier session of the Karaka sale.
The draft will capture headlines, but in terms of numbers it falls well short of the record Cambridge Stud has taken to Karaka.
"One year we had nearly 100 yearlings here," Hogan said. "We took up the entire barn block except for five boxes on one end."
Asking a studmaster to predict the success of a yearling sale is like asking a politician to make a call on an election, but certainly Hogan wasn't expecting any surprises.
"The top end will be strong and so will the middle market for colts around the $100,000 - $140,000 mark and like all sales the lower end will be a bit interesting.
"Any colt with a pedigree that is physically correct will sell well.
"With the on-selling of developed horses so important these days, physical correctness is vital. Buyers will tolerate a little physical imperfection in fillies because there is the element of residual broodmare value, but a colt cannot have faults."
Horse Racing: O'Sullivan after sweep of Trentham features
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