RIDING PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

Ryan Elliot

Ryan Elliot made the most of his 5 rides at Rotorua on Tuesday, recording 3 wins and a 3^rd placing. Elliot’s day got off to a flying start in Race 1, guiding Tiz Louie home to a much-deserved maiden win at his 14^th start. Villion saluted as one of the rank outsiders in Race 5, which was the beneficiary of a great front-running ride. Ryan Elliot & Team Rogerson brought up their second winner of the day, with Just As Sharp spacing his rivals in Race 7 on the card.

FIRST-UP FOLLOW

Sumi

Sumi resumed in fine fashion at Whanganui on Saturday, with the 6yo mare gripping on from the fast-finishing Belardo Boy. This first-up win was Sumi’s first start since finishing 3^rd in the Gr.3 Rotorua ITM Stakes behind Wessex in May. Allan Sharrock has trained some high-level mares in recent times, such as Darci La Bella and Sinarahma, while Sumi may not be of that caliber just yet, look for her to progress on to some black-type targets in the near future.

GAP JOB

Collect Your Cash

While it was only a maiden 1200m contest on a Wednesday, it was certainly a special moment for brothers, Ruvanesh & Shankar Muniandy. Collect Your Cash powered away from his rivals securing his maiden victory by 3.8L. This maiden win marked the first career win of rider Ruvanesh Muniandy, which was made all the more memorable given it was for his brother and trainer, Shankar Muniandy.

FLASHING LIGHT

Polygon

After settling near last from the outside barrier, Polygon produced a strong closing sprint to finish 3^rd behind Volare at Pukekohe on Saturday. It was the best run we have seen this campaign from Polygon, who showed plenty of ability as a 3yo when winning the Gr.2 Elsdon Park Royal Stakes and Gr.3 Lawnmaster Eulogy Stakes. Going off her performances over 2000m+ as a 3yo, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Polygon step up over more ground moving forward this campaign.

BEATEN FAVOURITE

Babylon Berlin

Although she was beaten as the odds-on favourite for Saturday’s Gr.3 Haunui Farm Counties Bowl, I wouldn’t be dropping Babylon Berlin. After only jumping moderately, Babylon Berlin had to work early to sit outside Johny Johny, who looked to keep her working through the middle stages of the race. After finding the lead early down the 520m Pukekohe straight, Babylon Berlin was effectively a sitting duck for Sacred Satono, who had tracked her the entire way with only 53kg on his back. Definitely stick with her this campaign as she progresses on to bigger targets over the summer.