Mad Monday: Rosehill review

Turf Talk:

• Overall the track played very fair, with tempo the key factor in deciding the majority of races.
• It was a 50/50 split with rails/off-rails in transit throughout the day; the more telling factor was the lanes in the straight.
• Unreachable (R2) and Lady Extreme (R10) were the two outliers, coming down lanes 7–9 in the straight.
• The other eight races were dominated by horses getting to lanes 1–5 in the straight – this made for a lot of heart in the mouth moments with horses cluttered up and needing room.

Moment Of The Day: Force to be Reckoned With – Raging Force (R8)

The G3 San Domenico was the feature of the day, and it certainly delivered. Raging Force, backed $3.10 into $2.40, fought out a stirring duel with Wodeton, who eased $2.40 out to $3.00. Tommy Berry took luck out of the equation by finding the rails and dictating aboard Raging Force. He pinched it early with a soft lead before rolling into his work from the 800m.

Despite still showing signs of greenness – laying in badly late – Raging Force did enough to hold off Wodeton, whose run was significantly hampered when tightening occurred. The final margin was 1.4L; with clear air, you could argue it would have been much closer.

Raging Force’s picket fence continues!

Do the connections of Wodeton have a case to take to the steward’s room?
pic.twitter.com/McOlJ4SezB
— bet365 Australia (@bet365_aus)
August 30, 2025

Surprisingly, James McDonald and the Coolmore team elected not to lodge a protest, but the stewards addressed the interference post-race regardless.

That’s now four wins from five starts for Raging Force, who heads towards the Golden Rose with momentum. So, moving forward – are you in Team Raging Force or Team Wodeton?

Tactics Questioned:

What was promised as a moving day in Sydney for our new-season 3yos was sadly marred by an awful incident in R6 – the G3 Up & Coming Stakes – where the O’Shea and Charlton-trained Tyreek couldn’t be saved after a nasty fall at the 250m mark. He was shoved into the inside rail when jockey Tom Sherry tried to force a run through a tightly packed field.

James McDonald, aboard Providence, had made his run off the leader’s back, with Sherry caught napping half a length. From there, McDonald rolled off the fence with Tyreek sneaking up the inside. Sherry then angled his mount Grand Prairie back towards the rail where there wasn’t room for three horses, bumping Providence, which snowballed into Tyreek. The contact caused Tyreek to lose jockey Dylan Gibbons and crash heavily into the inside rail.

It was devastating for the stable and all connections. No doubt Sherry will be his own harshest critic, surely wishing for that split-second moment back. He copped a month-long suspension (see stewards’ report below), but many punters and racing fans are questioning whether the penalty was long enough.

Steer Of The Day – Anna Roper on Sunshine Law (R3)

Cool, calm and collected, Anna Roper delivered in-form trainer Denim Wynen her second metro winner — and second Midway win – in the space of just two weeks.

After Sunshine Law stepped slightly slow from barrier 7 of 8, Roper didn’t panic. She showed great composure and race sense, angling back to the superior inside lanes before weaving a winning passage over the final 200m. It was an absolute peach of a ride, and her 2kg claim continues to be a luxury for Saturday metro punters.

The Flashing Light

• R6 – Providence: Plenty to unpack in this year’s edition of the Up & Coming Stakes. Providence never got the chance to play a part due to the nasty fall. The progressive 3yo looked ready to move into the race stylishly before being badly bumped and losing all momentum. Expect sharp improvement next time out.
• R8 – Beiwacht: Plenty of merit in the first-up run of Beiwacht. Sitting three-wide on speed from the 1100m Rosehill chute is up there with a 9am family breakfast after too many beers the night before. He looks bang on track for a big second and third-up prep. Currently $21/$6 for the Golden Rose — worth a little spec.
• R9 – Fangirl (Caulfield): Yes, this is a Sydney review, but Fangirl simply isn’t a Caulfield horse. She looked like a fish out of water in that hot tempo around the Caulfield track. Get her back to Randwick please, Chris (or Flemington) second-up and there should be a good betting opportunity.

They Left It In The Bag:

• R3 – Amreekiyah: A tough watch for punters (myself included), who would have been sweating when the leaders pinched cheap mid-race splits. That said, Amreekiyah still had every possible chance after being backed $3.20 into $2.40 but couldn’t reel them in and failed to beat a runner home. Time for a spell?
• R5 – Tazima: The Chris Waller trained galloper was hammered late in betting, $2.70 into $2.30. For backers, welcome to the #Wallered community, as stablemate Travolta ($6.50) stormed down the outside to win impressively.
• R9 – Mchale: $11 into $6.50 for this dynamic fresh mare off the back of a sharp trial. She landed in a gun spot and loomed like she’d go straight past Estadio Mestalla – fun fact, she didn’t – peaking late for an impressive second.

What You May Have Missed:

The one-time Golden Slipper favourite – West Of Swindon – made his return to racing after switching from Team Hawkes to the in-form Maher stable. The runner-up in the G2 Golden Gift & Silver Slipper went around as a hot $2.50 favourite after opening $2.05 at Kembla Grange on Saturday, drawing barrier 12 of 15.

It was a less-than-ideal run in transit with @wayneIzardy summing up his thoughts on the ride below. The run had merit — on a serious note, he’ll be knocking the maiden tag off very soon.

Jock grabbed 3 pies, a can of coke and a hat off a patron she was that wide

— Wiz (@WayneIzardry)
August 30, 2025

Another key point punters may have missed was the stewards’ report update on the Waterhouse & Bott-trained $2.80 G2 Rosebud favourite Agarwood (see below) – with the stable happy to continue on with her prep, with a nomination in this week’s G2 Furious Stakes over 1200m. Look for a potential gear change such as a tongue tie going on.

Social Media Sin Bin:

I’m owning up this week and throwing myself in the sin bin. In what was a dazzling edition of the Group 1 Memsie Stakes, I was firm in my opinion that Treasurethe Moment’s recent Caulfield trial was overrated and that Saturday’s Memsie was her welcome to first grade.

Dean’s Memsie Stakes play 👇
❌ Fangirl ❌ Treasurethemoment
✅ A different angle for Saturday

📺 https://t.co/kV4EMo7r3x
pic.twitter.com/9v3BaHNXBx
— theGreatTipOff. (@theGreatTipOff)
August 26, 2025

Well-deserved 10 minutes in the bin for me. I could watch her dynamic turn of speed over the final 300m about 40 times during my stint on the sidelines. What a win it was.