Feel the Rhythmos, fell the rhyme, get on up, it’s championships time.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Potentially.
After her mare Missy Rhythmos handled a step up in journey beautifully to secure a second straight victory at Towac Park on Tuesday and showed plenty of adaptability in the run, Orange trainer Alison Smith confirmed next year’s Country Championships is on her radar.
All three of the six-year-old’s career wins had come over 1000 metres until Tuesday – including her last start in late November at the same track – when she walked in over 1280 in the Central West Trailers Benchmark 64 Handicap.
Despite normally being a leader regular hoop Anthony Cavallo sat Missy Rhythmos a couple of lengths back from the pace-setting Malzoom, before breezing to a three-length lead with a kick at the top of the straight.
Cavallo easing off well before the post closed that margin slightly, but it did nothing to dispel Smith’s thoughts of pushing the mare to 1400 again leading into next year’s championships.
“It is (the plan),” Smith told SkyRacing Thoroughbred Central after the win.
“I am going away over Christmas so she’ll go down to the water walker for a few weeks and we’ll get back into her after that.
“She’s really improved, she’s as honest as the day’s long, she’s one of the nicest horses I’ve got in the stable and I think she’s really deserved to get a couple of wins in a row.
“She did (sprint quickly off a fast tempo), the alley was bit a tricky and I was a little bit worried that maybe I didn’t have enough condition on her, but she must be pretty fit because she ran well.”
Cavallo’s enthusiasm for the mare echoes Smith’s, and he also suggested the six-year-old has what it takes to succeed over the 1400-metre trip.
“She did something similar in the (2017) championship (qualifier). She got back a little bit and hit the line really well in a much stronger race,” Cavallo explained.
Missy Rhythmos ran sixth of 12 that afternoon at Wellington, she looked the goods after a big run on the rails but outsprinted in the final 50, still only finishing two lengths behind eventual winner Distinctive Look.
She’s as honest as the day’s long ... I think she’s really deserved to get a couple of wins in a row
- Orange trainer Alison Smith
“I think she’s got it, it’s just that we’ve been able to lead and win (in the past). So as the races get longer if we can take a sit, that’s even better,” Cavallo said.
“We had to sit on her [on Tuesday], usually she leads in the quicker races but it all panned out nicely.
“The leader actually came back to us before I had to move, which feels good, but she led down well once we straightened up.”
Jumping from the wide barrier, Missy Rhythmos ($2.90 favourite) settled one off the rails. She edged in front with 250 to go and romped home.
Todd Smart’s City Boots ($5.50) ran a strong second, Clare Cunningham’s Japhite ($4) grabbed third by a nose from Court Victory ($9), after a late surge.