Trainer Frank Ritchie has no idea why Showella ran the worst race of her career in the $A350,000 Underwood Stakes at Caulfield.
Showella did not look like the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups favourite finishing a dismal 10th after tailing off in the early stages of the feature on Saturday.
"I have no idea what to think," said Ritchie from Melbourne yesterday.
"There are no signs that she is off her game. She didn't eat a full feed after the race, but then she never does, and physically she looks terrific."
Ritchie had been extremely confident of Showella winning.
"When she got to the track she was as settled as she has ever been and I have never been more confident that she would win a race. She had done superbly well going into the race."
Fill-in rider Patrick Payne had no choice but to cover extra ground around the field when attempting to improve at the 500m. Showella covered a lot of ground wide, but that was not what beat her.
The high class mare did nothing in the home straight.
"The only thing that makes any sense is that perhaps her tough first-up third in the Craiglee Stakes at Flemington has temporarily flattened her," said Ritchie.
"She did not kick at all from the 300m and she has never done that.
"Patrick Payne said the Caulfield track was very hard and asked if that would have been a problem for her, but I'm not using that as an excuse."
Showella is a notoriously lazy trackworker, who gives no guide to her form other than in her races.
As a result, Ritchie has a nervous two weeks until the $A250,000 Turnbull Stakes to determine whether the mare is still on line for the $A2 million Caulfield Cup.
Showella runs into champion mare Sunline in the Turnbull, but Ritchie has no problems with that, he would simply love to see Showella storming home late to finish second to Sunline.
Bookmakers reacted quickly to the Showella run, dropping her from Caulfield Cup favouritism and adjusting her odds from 10-1 to 14-1.
She has been replaced at the top of the market by Freemason, Fairway and Kiwi stayer Kaapstad Way, who impressed with his solid third in the Underwood.
Northern Hemisphere stayer Far Cry has toppled Showella as Melbourne Cup favourite, coming in from 14-1 to 12-1, while Showella has drifted to 14-1.
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Outstanding galloper Cent Home will miss the entire spring and early summer racing programme.
Disappointed trainer Jim Wallace said yesterday he has decided to spell Cent Home rather than press on towards the $A2 million Caulfield Cup.
Wallace said the muscular problem which kept Cent Home from the Hawkes Bay Challenge Stakes, had not responded as well as he had hoped.
"The problem is still niggling him so he can have three weeks to a month in the spelling paddock.
"He walks around freely enough, but every now and again it catches him when someone is on his back."
Wallace hopes to have Cent Home back for Christmas and New Year racing with the Australian Cup at Flemington as an obvious target.
"The big international race in Singapore is something I'd be interested in later in the autumn.
"This is a great shame because he really had come up so brilliantly well."
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The most impressive winner on Saturday, Platonic, will almost certainly race next in Australia.
The dashing mare is likely to take on the $A150,000 Tristarc Stakes on Caulfield Cup day followed by the $A250,000 Hardy Brothers Classic on Derby Day at Flemington.
"Those two races look likely to suit her perfectly, particularly the Hardy Brothers Classic, Flemington is an ideal track for her," said Richardson yesterday.
Platonic has looked exceptionally talented winning five of her previous six starts, but Saturday's first-up winning effort stamped her at a different level and points to her being an exciting Australian prospect.
Despite sitting three wide, Platonic sprinted past the leaders in the home straight with blinding speed and was never asked for her best to win by a clear margin.
"She pulled up as if she hadn't had a race," said a delighted Richardson.
If Platonic shows she can measure up to the tougher Australian talent, Richardson would like to set the mare two ambitious targets next year - the Coolmore Classic in Sydney and the Cox Plate.
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Shogun Lodge is going to have to find something if he hopes to be a threat to Sunline in the Cox Plate.
He got off the speed in Sydney on Saturday, but did little when clear in the home straight.
Like Showella, he was having his second start following a spell.
* * *
All In Fun retires with his million dollar earnings, thanks to a gesture by the Taranaki Jockey Club.
The old bloke fell $413 short of the million when he could finish only third in the Canterbury Sox Plate, but the club added $450 to the $1000 stakemoney for third.
The scenario may not suit everyone, but no one can deny the horse deserved to retire a millionaire.
Racing: Dismal Showella has Ritchie scratching head
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