When I first saw HEALTHY BLUEBERRY (114 lb) romp home in the Class 4 mile race my first thought was that the horses behind him must not be very good. Despite cutting across the field from the outside barrier and leading all of the way, he actually covered the last 400m faster than any runner bar Headsiwin, which lends credence to that theory. But the time on the clock is shockingly good. Peter Ho's runner got everything to suit, but put up a stunning time that suggests he should be running in the higher grade.
LOMBARDI (124 lb) ran a cracking race despite being slow out, a bit wide, and held up early in the straight. In fact, on sectional times and taking into consideration his troubled passage it looks as if he could have given Class 1 sprinters like Tuscan Spirit and Sunny Golf a run for their money. Dirt specialist Sunny Golf was only 3.25L behind Lucky Nine, albeit in a slowly-run race, and Lombardi seems to have already reached that level. He also performed similarly to the highly touted Best Win. They covered the first 800m of their races at virtually the same pace, before Best Win powered home with clear running in 22.48, and Lombardi in 22.65.
Lombardi has of course performed with merit over 1400m and would be even more interesting over that distance.
Of course, the most impressive part about BEST WIN (129 lb)'s run is the last furlong, which he covered in tremendous style. But the time of that Class 3 race actually has ROMANTIC CITY (119 lb) running below his best, achieved in his previous win last season. In that win over Hot Shot, Romantic City ran at a very strong Class 2 level. GOOD WORDS (125 lb)'s win still looks like Class 2 material, but off that performance he's no world beater.
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