Cadre du Noir

Sandown midweek staying races tend to be pretty weak affairs, much like Wednesday races on the Kenso, but I strongly suspect we might just have seen two very good horses race in one day.

This one is in Melbourne, and its name is Cadre Du Noir, and it just absolutely donkey licked its opponents in a BM70 over 2400 metres in manner that suggests it may very well be a horse who might be very hard to beat as it steps up through the classes during the Spring.

In fact, I will go way out on a limb and suggest that in what thanks to the virus is increasingly looking like being one of the weakest Melbourne Spring Carnivals in living memory, this bloke trained by the all-conquering Maher/Eustrace stable may even be a live hope in the the Cups, if of course the Victorians can hold off COVID and get there.

The US bred, lightly raced UK raced import is likely to need an ownership change to get there himself however, for he is presently owned by the very aptly named Phoenix Thoroughbreds, the shonky middle-eastern money laundering outfit that is tens on to be kicked out of racing any time soon, as growing revelations about the source of its cash paint it as very black indeed.

I am sure the international task force that will end up seizing Phoenix’s assets will have no trouble at all finding a buyer though; in fact given the way this thing won by an ever widening ten odd length margin with the soon to be spelled Ben Melham swinging against it like his namesake Hur in the first lap of a chariot race, I reckon they will be beating off the horde of bidders at the door.

Check out the replay of race 6 at the Hillside today and tell me that I’m wrong.

And remember that you heard this one here first too.