A Twitter review of The Championships day one
DAY one of The Championships was moving along nicely last Saturday, but punters weren’t quite hitting the jackpot in the early part of the card.
The carnival was to change in the blink of an eye, however, as the T.J. Smith Stakes rolled around and two-time champion Chautauqua was set to embark on a history-making hat-trick.
The grey champion turned The Championships on its head with a withering burst of speed in a performance that had to be seen. It was settling last throughout and it looked well-held coming around the turn, but it called upon its champion qualities to unleash a devastating sprint to amaze the Randwick crowd.
We’ve taken a look at all the Twitter reaction from the T.J. Smith Stakes and all the other feature races which were run at Randwick on Saturday.
Chautauqua sets the carnival alight
We’re not saying day one of The Championships would have been a let down if Chautauqua hadn’t of won in the fashion that it did, but it certainly helped the mood of punters.
Punters were able to get as much as $6 for the champion sprinter and regardless of whether punters made money off the Hawkes Racing runner, they were simply stunned at the performance of the weekend.
Anyone that backed Chautauqua today would have the racing bug for life. I’ve never seen anything like it #Chautauqua
— Matt Taylor (@DreamTeamMatt) April 1, 2017
Popular Brisbane Heat and Australian batsmen Chris Lynn was impressed with the victory, but the we’re not sure the ICC would agree.
I want what #Chautauqua is on!!!
— Chris Lynn (@lynny50) April 1, 2017
Chautauqua got a whiff of the news that Twitter had blown up after its famous T.J. Smith Stakes win.
#Chautauqua #boom #3rdTJSmiths #⚡️#wbs #hawkesracing pulled up well the big fella pic.twitter.com/19cUUkzOFN
— Britt mcdonald (@Brittmcdonald7) April 1, 2017
Winter is here – Jon Snow takes Derby
Daylight savings has ended in New Zealand which means winter is coming (insert Game of Thrones reference), but for Kiwi champion Jon Snow it was autumn success at Randwick.
The Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained three-year-old was the lesser-fancied New Zealand runner after Gingernuts was backed into $2.10 with local bookmakers, but it turned around the New Zealand Derby result in fine style.
One Twitter user pointed out that average Australian stayers used to come over and win New Zealand’s Derby, but what he didn’t take into account is that the Derby used to be run on New Year’s Day. Since the change to March, it’s been one of the best form guides for Australia’s age-group staying races.
Gone are the days where old mate coniston bluebird could go to NZ and win a Derby yet be uncompetitive in ours ?? #atcderby #jonsnow
— Joel (@joeldavies12) April 1, 2017
The win continued a long tradition of Kiwi-bred horses winning the Derby as Twitter user Danny Rolston pointed out.
Want an AJC Derby Winner? Come to NZ @KarakaChat #JonSnow #MKhan #Dundeel #Shamrocker #ShootOut #NomDuJeu #Tavago #Etc
— Danny Rolston (@rolstondj) April 1, 2017
Figures… we’re not the only ones making GOT references.
WINTER IS HERE #AustralianDerby #JonSnow
— Avi Lal (@Avi_Lal) April 1, 2017
Invader wins one for the boys
The fillies had dominated the juvenile features this season, but Invader scored one for the boys in Saturday’s Sires’ Produce Stakes.
The only G1 winning 2yo colt in Australia this season. A man amongst boys. Great looking colt with an eletric turn of foot ??. #INVADER #Syd pic.twitter.com/oPHWYDPvtp
— Tom Ryan (@TomRyanKY) April 1, 2017
The $475,000 Magic Millions purchase wasn’t a cheap buy for the China Horse Club, but it paid dividends at The Championships for Team Snowden.
There were plenty of happy punters which noticed that drawing an inside barrier was the key to success early in the day. Invader drew barrier three and some punters were able to secure $8 at Ladbrokes for the classy colt.
Fantastic burst for the line #invader #Randwick #TheChampionships ????
— Carrie ✌ (@Carrie_P999999x) April 1, 2017
Make sure you tune in for day two of The Championships at Randwick this Saturday. We will have feature tipping previews for all the major races on the card which includes Winx in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.