Jury Still Out On Eremein's Dethroning

Sun Herald

Sunday September 24, 2006

Max Presnell

EREMEIN went down at Rosehill yesterday while El Segundo again displayed the hallmarks of an outstanding weight-for-age performer in Caulfield's Underwood Stakes.

Post-race examinations gave the impression Eremein is now vulnerable.

But was his Hill Stakes defeat disappointing?

After all, Eremein went down to Desert War, a proven group 1 and weight-for-age performer allowed the luxury of a tempo so leisurely that jockey Larry Cassidy figured the stopwatch in his head had gone bung.

Glen Boss, on Eremein, also could not believe that Desert War was allowed to go through so many cheap sections.

On the post, Boss seemed to shake his head, a far cry from his whip-waving victory choreography.

Asked later why, he commented: "I just couldn't believe Rod let him get away with it and didn't take him on."

Boss was referring to Rod Quinn on Grand Zulu, in the chasing position but not intent on having a cut-throat duel with Desert War.

Quinn had his own agenda and his minor placing delighted trainer Gwenda Markwell. "Wait until he gets over 2400 metres," said Markwell, who isn't too worried about future clashes with Eremein.

Quinn was entitled to ride his race and not do Eremein any favours, but Boss wasn't keen to subject Eremein to a slug fest with Desert War.

"He's not there yet," Boss said.

Later, on cooling down, Boss paid tribute the fine judgement of pace by Cassidy.

Before the race, trainer Allan Denham told me he had stepped up the work schedule of Eremein and that he might not sprint with the same zip he showed at Randwick, where he won the Chelmsford and left Desert War in his wake.

Rosehill yesterday, too, favoured front-running horses. Perhaps not to the degree of a bias, but certainly a pattern of racing which influenced the strong betting move on Stormhill in the Shannon Stakes.

Jim Cassidy set a sizzling tempo on Stormhill, backed from $9 to $6.50, and he never looked like losing.

Obviously the conditions didn't suit the bevy of form horses which began slowly: Aunty Betty (Woolworths), Go Cart (Children's Hospital Appeal), Run Rita Run (Good Taste Handicap), while Just Dancing (Tea Rose) was hampered shortly after the start.

Down south, El Segundo had a much easier task than the heat generated by Desert War. Most of the top fancies pitted against him failed to fire.

The success of El Segundo brought a wry smile from Ross McDonald, the astute Caulfield horseman with runners at Rosehill yesterday.

"El Segundo," he replied, asked which is the better, Eremein or the Melbourne ace.

Jockey Darren Beadman was another impressed with El Segundo, but he couldn't contain his joy with Headturner's fourth, beaten 2.8 lengths by Desert War.

Cups king Bart Cummings felt Eremein may have been feeling the effects of the hard run on the heavy Kensington circuit last start.

But then he had a chapter of personal misery when Empires Choice, with Boss up, went like a dromedary on an ice rink in the Gloaming Stakes.

Starting at $3.30, Empires Choice finished 12th, with Boss saying the colt "didn't know where he was going" and recommending blinkers in future.

© 2006 Sun Herald

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