Insight Analysis
Tassie Talking Points: Newmarket Night 2025
The Tasmanian Summer season kicked off with Newmarket night at Launceston on Friday.
Often setting the scene for some of the key races to follow, the Tasmanian Newmarket meeting at Launceston signals that the Summer season is getting underway.
There were some interesting results in the two feature races on the card, starting with the 3yo Cup, won by the Stuart Gandy trained Crack The Shutters.
We wrote at the end of last season that some of the two-year-old form in Tasmania looked historically very strong, and we saw some of that form converge here.
Crack The Shutters had the benefit of race fitness on her side and that counted for plenty as she turned the tables on the previously unbeaten Sanniya, who had beaten her by three lengths in the Gold Sovereign Stakes back in February.
The tempo was strong here with Sanniya perhaps a bit fresh off a spell and it played into Crack The Shutters' hands.
She's run to aTimeform
rating of 88, which matches her two-year-old peak she ran when winning her maiden, although this race was achieved in a much stronger time figure.Sanniya on the other hand, was off her best. She was the highest rated two-year-old last season and posted a rating of 96, which was very strong historically.
We have to go back to 2018 to find a higher rating two-year-old, who just happened to be Mystic Journey (100), who ended her glittering career rated 122 at Racing And Sports.
Given the 1.5kg weight difference Sanniya gave Crack The Shutters, her Timeform rating comes out at 85, which is 11 pounds off her peak.
That's slightly disappointing given what she promised last time in, but there should be plenty of improvement to come and we'll reserve judgement next run.
It'll be interesting to see what the plan is with Sanniya, as most of the three-year-old races get over more ground from here on in, and she profiles like a sprinter.
In the Tasmanian Newmarket, Durazzo proved a tough winner with 59kg, matching his peak rating of 105, which he also ran winning the Hellova Street Stakes (1600m) last time in.
He'd also run to a Timeform rating of 105 first up despite being beaten in the Goodwood Handicap, giving away 6.5kg to Alvarinho, meeting horses from that race slightly better off this time around.
In terms of past Tasmanian Newmarket winners, Durazzo at 105 is on the higher end.
Since the turn of the century, only The Inevitable (110), Royal Rambo (110) and I'm Wesley (108) have run better Timeform ratings to win the race.
Durazzo ties with Scenic Silver in 2008, sitting comfortably ahead of recent winners Geegees Gemstone (92), Gee Gee Secondover (93) First Accused (95) and Deroche (98).
Given how versatile Durazzo is with wins from 1009m to 1600m, the Summer carnival is his for the taking.
It's likely he'll start a short-priced favourite in races such as the Conquering Stakes and The Inevitable Stakes before the new year, and given these races are run under weight-for-age conditions, he could put a real picket fence together.
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