Racing has a funny way of making and breaking reputations in stunningly superficial ways.
Before launching his latest preparation Western Sonador was the talk of the town with pundits perpetrating his virtues to all who would listen.
Then, lo and behold, he leads and wins at Bendigo to jettison his campaign.
Suddenly, the sacred souls that anointed him are booming form the bleachers about our next great pacing prodigy, declaring him with fervour as Victoria’s newest star.
Five weeks later, Steve O’Donoghue and Rebecca Bartley’s untapped five-year-old finds himself at Melton and finishes fourth after breezing (sitting outside the leader) in transit.
In the blink of an eye, this great brown – or potentially black – hope was equus non grata.
As a direct result, Western Sonador lined up for Saturday night’s Minuteman Free For All at Beckley Park, Geelong, seemingly needing to win back favour based on one slightly sub-par effort.
Attention turned, as it does in racing of all three codes, to another fresh face with what might be deemed more marketable qualities.
That fresh face was called Wolf Stride.
Those that have ridden racing’s roller-coaster time and again surely sensed the folly.
Yes, Wolf Stride has outstanding credentials, and of course he looms large in Victoria Cup calculations, but Western Sonador was fitter, better drawn and probably equally gifted.
One swallow doth make a summer.
This much was fortified when Western Sonador raced the gate, led with relative ease and ultimately secured the Minuteman FFA despite copping pressure from Boncel Benjamin throughout.
Wolf Stride was excellent in defeat and Torrid Saint, another of Western Sonador’s race-hardened rivals, almost outrageous running third after a trouble-laden trip in transit.
Western Sonador won this early Vic Cup audition on his merits.
In the process, he also reminded a freakishly fickle racing media that class, as most who know anything about horses will attest, is precious, permanent, and totally impenetrable.
Strange as it sounds, majestic young trotter Majestuoso was under the microscope on Saturday night at Geelong.
Having watched Im Ready Jet go under the previous weekend, punters were pondering the virtues of their favourite squaregaiters and just how much separated the best from the rest.
First up this prep, Majestuoso was breathtaking.
His last-to-first triumph had all-and sundry simpering under his spell.
Now, let’s be clear, there was nothing ‘wrong’ with his following ‘failure’ in the Maori’s Idol Free For All where tempo tainted his winning chances.
With that on the table, even his greatest champion, trainer Andy Gath was slightly underwhelmed by his effort given the enormous expectations we now have of the pint-sized speed machine.
Thankfully, the microscope revealed positive results at Beckley Park as Majestuoso stalked and swamped quality opposition to either fortify or re-claim his crown as the nation’s premier trotter.
The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the author and may not be attributed to or represent policies of Harness Racing Victoria, which is the state authority and owner of thetrots.com.au.