Money Market hard to beat on Sunday

MONEY MARKET ran probably his best race ever on August 3, allowing out-of-class MADELYN’S SUNSHINE a pound and fighting the American to the wire in an open overnight-allowance event at five and a half furlongs.

Returning for Sunday’s Trevor McKenzie Trophy, a half-furlong shorter, with no rival as classy as MADELYN’S SUNSHINE - who had placed second in grade one behind stablemate IS THAT A FACT three weeks earlier - MONEY MARKET should be hard to beat.

Skipping a class to tackle overnight-allowance winners, MONEY MARKET was ridden to clear post-position one, which got him into a battle with SUGAR DADDY in splits of 23.1, 34.4, 46.3, and 59.3.

The speed duel played into stalking MADELYN’S SUNSHINE’s web a half-furlong out. A winded MONEY MARKET wilted close home, losing by a length after the photo-finish camera relegated him to third, giving up a neck to fast-finishing PRESS CONFERENCE.

No handicapper worth his salt would mark down MONEY MARKET (lost no marks in defeat) after that run, making him worth every dollar the gamble among his peers, horses who have never won an overnight-allowance event.

Consider MONEY MARKET down in class and representing MADELYN’S SUNSHINE, a tempting banker if there was ever one. However, whether he will return in similar form is the million-dollar question on a day the feature event shares the spotlight with the BGLC-TOBA Millionaires Series.

It is not uncommon for horses to punch above their level only to return sour when next out. Though MONEY MARKET hasn’t raced in a month, and Gary Subratie doesn’t gun his runners at exercise, it wouldn’t hurt to throw in insurance runners on those bets.

SUGAR DADDY and MRS LYNDHURST are speedy enough to get away from post-positions two and three, respectively, causing issues at the half-mile marker for other speedsters breaking from mid-track and wider.

Speed can collapse at any distance, especially if BURLAP decides to go kamikaze as he did at a mile in the O & S Tack Room on August 31, ripping 45.3 and 57.4 in a bid to get away from DIGITAL ONE, who had missed the break.

OASIS JAK and DIGITAL ONE are drawn widest at posts 11 and 12, which could favour the Americans, who clearly won’t be able to beat the local-breds to the half-mile. OASIS JAK and DIGITAL ONE being wide could force throttling of their natural speed until turning for home, which would make them both dangerous sprinters closing from off the pace.