Herbert Power Stakes

(Group 1)

MANY a favourite has been sacrificed in a weight-for-age race with a small field, Zaaki is the latest. Sent off as a $1.25 ‘hot-pot’, after five straight group wins, the Leroidesanimaux gelding never looked likely in the five-horse Group 1 Might And Power over 2,000 metres.

Racing keenly early, he was swept past by Probabeel and Nonconformist in the straight, and the Savabeel mare won by a nose in a masterclass by Brett Prebble ahead of the Rebel Raider gelding Nonconformist.

“She was all guts. I was out in the last 100 (metres),” said Prebble of the Jamie Richards-trained mare. “She had nothing left but every time I kept lifting, she kept trying her heart out. It was all guts and determination.”

While entered for the Cox Plate Probabeel is no ‘lock’ to start. “100% she wouldn’t be running on a wet track,” siad Richards. “The track needs to be good-dead, any worse than that I think we’ll be waiting a week and I think if she did end up in the Empire Rose (Derby Day) she’d be a very short-priced favourite.”

Probabeel sits on the sixth line of betting for the Cox Plate, while Zaaki remains a firm $2.80 favourite, with his trainer Annabel Neasham prepared to forgive this run.

“For me, I just think the race wasn’t run to suit,” she said. “I think it’s as simple as that. The horse likes a strong tempo and he likes to roll along and it just didn’t turn out that way.”