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With very wet conditions in New South Wales again, causing the last at Warwick Farm to be abandoned, we’ve focused on Sandown-Hillside for our horses to follow from this week.
Sandown-Hillside Race 5- Imperial Hilton
This was a fantastic return by Imperial Hilton who showed talent as a three-year-old, finishing just 1.5 lengths adrift of I'm Thunderstruck one day at Caulfield. The Patrick Payne trained gelding settled back in the field over 1000m and was forced to take an inside run upon straightening, with the pattern of the day suiting those out wider. He hit the front inside the 150m but was no match for the horses in better ground over the concluding stages. The overall time was just fair for the day but Imperial Hilton will be much better suited over further given he has placed over a mile. Up to 1200m next start in similar grade before hopefully stepping to 1400m third up, he can be a horse to follow this time in.
Sandown-Hillside Race 8- Visinari
He may not have the most traditional stride but Visinari has plenty of talent. As a juvenile in the UK he was a dominant stakes winner on debut before a narrow third at Group Two level and a distant fourth to one of the best two-year-olds in history, Pinatubo. He put the writing on the wall this preparation, jumping out very well before a dominant win at Pakenham first up in fast time, and he justified his odds-on quote here with a fairly soft win. Like Imperial Hilton, Visinari wasn't in the best ground in the straight and a firmer surface looks to suit him better. The time was solid for the day and if kept healthy, it wouldn't surprise to see Visinari aimed up a race like the Winter Championship at Flemington.