Move To Strike, which is not eligible for the Karaka Millions, has Barrier 1 and champion jockey Opie Bosson aboard, so could be the anchor in many multis and set either the punters or the bookies up for the day.
While Walker is very confident with the colt, he isn’t sure what to make of some other key clashes of his super-stable tomorrow, but one horse whose chances require little thought is Campionessa in the $175,00 Cal Isuzu Stakes.
A last-start winner in similar company, she is beautifully suited by the weight-for-age scale and not only won the Rich Hill Mile on this track on New Year’s Day, but pushed Sharp N Smart close here in the Herbie Dyke Stakes last February.
“She was really good last start over 1400m and should be even better back up to the mile,” offers Walker.
He has a far less definitive opinion regarding the battle between star 3-year-olds Tokyo Tycoon and Quintessa in race two.
“I really can’t choose between them. He is obviously a really good horse, but she is a real winner - she hasn’t been beaten yet.
“There is nothing between them on their work, and it might come down to who gets the better run.”
While Tokyo Tycoon is the more proven of the pair, if Walker’s assessment is right then the $3.60 price for Quintessa makes great sense compared with the $1.90 opening quote for Tokyo Tycoon in a race that also sees the return of Ethereal Star.
The latter pushed Tokyo Tycoon close in the Karaka Million in January, and while she had no joy during a Melbourne spring campaign, she has the class to be competitive tomorrow and through the summer.
Walker and training partner Sam Bergerson also have two reps in the $140,000 Skycity Hamilton Waikato Cup, and again the master trainer is not convinced the bookies have nailed the Waikato Cup market.
“I think Prise De Fer could be the upset, and the old boy isn’t far off Aromatic,” says Walker.
The bookies don’t see it that way, understandably, with Prise De Fer carrying the 58kg top-weight at $12, whereas in the in-form Aromatic is the $3 favourite with 55kgs on her back.
This time last year, Aromatic was thought to be better suited to wet tracks, but her form since has suggested she is just as potent on dry surfaces and will be hard to beat, albeit from the outside gate in a field that has some horses Bosson won’t want to get stuck behind.
The big danger to the pair looks to be Dionysus, who is at the improving stage and, carrying 53kgs, will be very hard to hold out for premiership-leading jockey Warren Kennedy.
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.
