Patriarch, God of Love to star in race of the season

ALL THINGS being equal, Saturday’s SVREL Fifth Anniversary Trophy appears the best race assembled on paper so far this season. Stablemates PATRIARCH and GOD OF LOVE taking on old rival FATHER PATRICK, sneaky LABAN benefiting from an eye-catching change of rider, SECRET IDENTITY as light as chips, plus EAGLE ONE and DUKE begging for a collapsing pace, certainly set the stage for a cracker.

However, post-positions, speed and handicaps weigh heavily against a number of runners, starting with LABAN breaking from the one hole with his tardy habit of being slowly into stride, a luxury he can’t afford, heading into the half-mile turn, surrounded by speed.

Handicaps is where FATHER PATRICK comes out worst, topping the scale at 126lb, allowing his lightest rival, SECRET IDENTITY, 22lb, while giving up eight to PATRIARCH and 14 to GOD OF LOVE.

PATRIARCH will not allow FATHER PATRICK to settle into any rhythm, which will allow him to stay on up the lane with 126lb. SECRET IDENTITY’s intentions are clear and similar to PATRIARCH’s. Trainer Tensang Chung has summoned female lightweight rider Samantha Fletcher to be in the pace from the get-go, which 104lb will certainly allow her to do aboard the quick four-year-old filly.

However, SECRET IDENTITY is new to the grade and has never come across a horse like PATRIARCH, a speed demon who churns out sub-23 and sub-35 fractions for breakfast on the round course. Whereas SECRET IDENTITY is quick, she won’t be calling her tune, which can be a shocker to horses making graded-stakes debuts.

Fitzgerald Richards has again craftily set up his tag team, PATRIARCH and GOD OF LOVE, on whom gate assignments, trip, speed and handicaps have favoured.

PATRIARCH breaks from stall six with 118lb, light enough to drive the fear of horse gods into any runner brave enough to go with him when he changes gears while still on the bridle. He is a devil at five furlongs, a demon a half-furlong longer, and possibly an elusive ghost at six, the trip at which he escaped GOD OF LOVE when in receipt of nine pounds on January 15.

However, the scale has swung 15lb in GOD OF LOVE’s favour, now getting six pounds from PATRIARCH, who will have SECRET IDENTITY and possibly too-heavy FATHER PATRICK gnawing at the lead. GOD OF LOVE has the right mix of speed and mid-race pace, plus Javaniel Patterson, a jock who knows how to time his stretch run, especially with his mount breaking widest with no traffic to encounter.