Sense of timing about Watchmaker
Watchmaker’s odds for the G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas have been slashed in the wake of his maiden success today at Riccarton.
The Waikato Stud graduate had been around the mark in his three previous appearances and the Michael and Matthew Pitman-trained 3-year-old showed his appreciation of the step up to 1400 metres with a commanding victory.
The son of Pins was at a $101 chance for next month’s Guineas and has now been trimmed down to $40.
The well-named gelding is out of the unraced O’Reilly mare Tick Tock and the family of the G1 Arrowfield Stud S. winner Sixty Seconds and her G3 Manawatu Classic-winning sister Spottswoode.
It is also the family of the two-time Group 1 winner and sire Xtravagant and Legs, who was also twice successful at the highest level.
Watchmaker was purchased by Brewers Bloodstock at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale for $75,000 and is raced by the Coupland and Bruford families.
Ardrossan’s Group 1-placed darling wins A$300,000 Gr.2 HKJC World Pool Wakeful Stakes
Second and fourth in 1600m Group 1 races in her two previous starts since being purchased privately by OTI Racing and stepping out in Australia under Chris Waller’s racing banner, De Armas (Ardrossan) stepped up in distance at Flemington on Saturday and opened her Australian account in style in the A$300,000 Gr.2 HKJC World Pool Wakeful Stakes (2000m) on Derby Day.
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The Corner with Garry Chittick
The writing of my Corner started many years ago, motivated by an irritation that I felt needed scratching. It was never my intention to make my commentary regular; neither did I intend to reinvent the direction of racing administration. It is both disappointing and ironical that what should be a simple, straightforward business provides a regular need for comment.
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