Muniz Memorial Handicap – Grade II
1 1/8 Mile Turf Stake Purse $300.000 Open 4 Year Olds And Up.

1st Lets Do It Big Boy        RNP Stables             McCarthy T

Well this horse proved a lot of things that are said in the forums at the moment all wrong. Firstly he carried top weight, secondly he won from a wide draw and thirdly he came from a long way back, in fact he was in the last three for much of the race. So what was so different about this race that it looked like a proper horse race with a proper result? Well firstly and most importantly Hollywood Niner went to the front and ran them along at a much more realistic pace than we have seen many races run in since the new engine arrived. Secondly Lets Do It Big Boy ran the entire last bend impossibly wide but didn’t seem to lose any ground, in fact he didn’t waste any energy at any point trying to find the rail like horses did under the old race engine. This allowed him to find the leaders without dodging weakening horses and saw him come with a great late run to take the race.

If any race has been an advertisement for the positives about the new engine then this is it. The best horse won, the front runner didn’t die like a shot duck in the stretch and if every race looked like this there would be no unhappy campers at HRP.

2nd Aerialist         Mb Stables            Jaramillo E

Ran the perfect race but once again could not find a third career win. There is no doubt that if the magic formula is ever found with this horse he will be very good indeed because he can outwork most of the best horses in the game on any surface over any distance.

3rd Hollywood Niner             Nolespan Racing           Court J K

It was great to see a front runner put in a front runners performance. This is a grand horse who may not be quite good enough for races like this but given his head he will always make his presence felt.

4th Transit Hit        Maxmillion Farm           Fuentes Ru

Not the result the turf king would’ve wanted but this was a very nice effort by a horse who was having his first taste of graded company.

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES