Perfect Brew a tasty prospect for Sunday

PERFECT BREW's Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes run, a determined second behind off-the-pace winner, GOLDEN WATTLE, after grabbing the lead coming off the home turn, makes Richard Azan's runner awfully hard to beat at six furlongs in the Sir Howard Stakes on Sunday.

The only 'unexposed' rival PERFECT BREW faces among the eight in which he will line up against is GOLIATH THE GREAT, who made a winning debut at five furlongs round, clocking good early splits but an underwhelming 1:02.1, three-fifths faster than IT'S ALL I's 1:02.4 in the following race (for the sake of those insisting, "the track was slow that day").

Yes, Shane Ellis was clowning around, as usual, but to step up from maidens, given an easy race by the rider, cannot be a confidence-builder, ahead of facing PHOENIX RISEN and PERFECT BREW, who, combined, have 11 tough races under their girths.

The grey GOLIATH THE GREAT not only has sire Midnight Hawk's colour but also traits. Midnight Hawk was a sprinter and throws them fast, hence GOLIATH THE GREAT will be in the mix-up with PHOENIX RISEN from the get-go, setting up a perfect brew (no pun intended) for Azan's run-on sprinter out of hot stallion Bern Identity.

It wasn't coincidence that a filly, GOLDEN WATTLE, beat two Bern Identity colts in December's Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes. BRINKS and PERFECT BREW ran their hearts out at a mile in decent splits for two-year-olds but, the final time, 1:40.0, exposed them as middle-distance at best.

PERFECT BREW will be perfectly happy to watch GOLIATH THE GREAT lug 126lb in a battle with PHOENIX RISEN before Dane Nelson gets bored and asks his mount to make a bid at the leaders, who would have worn themselves too thin to put up any resistance in the stretch run.

Nelson also looks good aboard RACE CAR for Spencer Chung in the third, an overnight allowance at five furlongs round. The five-year-old United States-bred grey returned off an 18-month break to chase home in-form GO DEH GIRL at five furlongs straight on last, proving that lay-ups, or not winning a race within a certain time frame, do not change horses' ratings, as is the case with the Snakes and Ladders being played among graded stakes, open allowance and overnight allowance.