A strong week of South Australian racing produced several key blackbookers from Morphettville Parks and Gawler, with a number of runners performing well despite difficult circumstances. Here are Mitch Lewis’ horses to follow and forgive from the past week.
Horses To Follow: Morphettville Parks – Saturday May 16
Race 6 (1550m 3YO BM66) – (11) Royal Sway
Royal Sway is certainly the easiest horse to follow out of the meeting after a strong and dominant win which rated as a clear career peak performance. Having endured little luck in a stronger race at her previous start, she showed what she is capable of here despite this only being the fifth run of her career. While this was only BM66 grade, the race looked a reasonably strong edition of the class and she appears capable of continuing to rise through the grades.
Race 7 (1000m BM78) – (1) Sir Now
Sir Now impressed with his resuming effort given several factors were against him. He carried a big weight despite the apprentice claim and was forced to jump from the outside barrier. He worked forward to settle outside the leader on a genuine tempo and despite the early work and weight, he stuck on strongly to only be caught late, beaten just 0.6 lengths. With the benefit of that first-up run and a more favourable setup next start, he looks capable of improving.
Race 9 (1250m F&M BM64) – (11) Empire Grace
Empire Grace resumed here and settled last on the rail before struggling for clear running at a crucial stage in the straight. Once clear, she picked up again and worked home well late to finish a solid sixth. She has not previously been known as a strong first-up performer but has won second-up before and shapes as a horse who can improve sharply with added fitness, potentially over a slightly longer trip and on a bigger track.
Forgive File
- Race 3 – (11) Grinzinger Halo – Found herself in an awkward position after jumping from a wide barrier.
- Race 6 – (3) Kalmana – Lost all momentum at the top of the straight.
- Race 7 – (6) Deepfloat Diva – Caught three-wide without cover for the majority of the race.
Horses To Follow: Gawler – Wednesday May 13
Race 3 (1100m Maiden) – (1) Emotive
Emotive jumped from a wide barrier before pushing forward to settle outside the leader on a fast tempo. While the leader weakened badly to finish last, Emotive stuck on strongly for second and produced the fourth-fastest last 600m and last 400m sectionals of the race, which also rated among the better closing figures of the meeting overall. She looks worth following into another midweek Maiden, particularly if she can secure a softer run in transit.
