Nuclear Noon to burn rivals with speed

FORTUNE has favoured NUCLEAR NOON twice in under a week, getting a field half-stacked with stayers going five furlongs round on Saturday after being gifted Sunday's Tack Room Trophy at the start by BILLY WHIZZ.

Almost six of the 13 starters back-to-form NUCLEAR NOON faces in the nightpan would have wanted at least another two to three furlongs to run their best races, whereas the sprinters in the line-up are no match for the lone three-year-old.

Sprinters UNKNOWN SOLDIER, ALEXA'S LODGE and DEEP BLUE SEA will simply be doing NUCLEAR NOON a favour, setting splits they can't maintain when the 2000 Guineas runner-up pounces at will.

On Sunday, NUCLEAR NOON was quickly on to REGNANT in splits of 22.3, 34.0, 45.4 and 58.2 before winning comfortably in 1:12.4 for six furlongs.

DEEP BLUE SEA, who hates being eyeballed and had to step down among million-dollar claimers to scramble home ahead of GLOCK, comes in at 121lb after Daniel Satchell's claim.

However, as fast as DEEP BLUE SEA may be, NUCLEAR NOON, running with 117lb, should easily have him for supper.

Run-on sprinter ALEXA'S LODGE returns hunting a hat-trick of wins, but is up against classic-placed NUCLEAR NOON as opposed to the older and weaker rivals who she used back class to beat after returning off a lay-up.

TRAINERS' RACE

Another interesting day looms in the ongoing battle for the trainers' stakes race, with Jason DaCosta starting the afternoon approximately $322,000 in front two-time defending champion, Anthony Nunes, NUCLEAR NOON's conditioner.

DaCosta could stretch his lead with a possible three-timer lined up - IT'S A BOY, UNRULY BOSS and TOMOHAWK in races six, eight and nine, respectively.

Ignore IT'S A BOY's losing margin behind BERN NOTICE on last. BERN NOTICE was a nine-length winner, who returned to chase home United States-bred I AM FRED on his next outing.

Finishing fifth, IT'S A BOY was only two lengths behind the second-place horse, his stablemate and last Saturday's return winner, IANNAILINKS, when dismissed by BERN NOTICE.

UNRULY BOSS was outsprinted by classic-placed horses, SECRET IDENTITY and NUCLEAR NOON, at five furlongs straight on October 19. Note how he clocked 1:12.1 when winning by eight lengths at six furlongs on October 2, the same afternoon big-filly SHE'S A WONDER posted 1:12.0.

TOMOHAWK voluntarily went up in class and was outsped at seven and a half furlongs behind LET HIM FLY. In a milder pace at nine furlongs and 25 yards, the distance at which he last won, he will be a tough horse to beat.