Two Year Old Power Rankings

What a great night the Karaka Million was. I was away for the weekend but luckily was able to find someone with Sky TV to watch the racing action. I started watching on Trackside (or TAB TV, I can never figure out which is which) and then switched over the Sky Sports to watch their coverage. I was very impressed with the coverage overall, it was excellent to follow one race meeting and really get a feel for what is happening on Track. I understand the economics of Trackside/TAB TV showing as many races as possible to give people a chance to bet, but when I generally bet from home I will watch one or two meetings and focus solely on one code so it was excellent to watch the racing all from one meeting and have detailed information about what was going on at the event.

The coverage on Sky was targeted towards people who were less experienced with the racing game which is fine to generate interest from these people; and given that it was the night for Karaka to shine they did focus on the sales trying to get people involved in racing which again is a good thing. My only complaint was the lack of graphics displaying information throughout the evening, but with my iPad in front of my this was not really a big deal (although it would be great to have an official TAB application).

The Karaka Million race was great, there was a lot happening throughout, the race probably didn't go to plan for a lot of the runners (including the winner from the sound of things), but the finish was excellent with Ockham's Razor chasing down Silk Pins wide on the track, surely it will give a positive lasting impression to those people tuning in who maybe don't spend a lot of time following racing.

I have been doing a Three Year Old Power Rankings for a few months now, but now I feel we have sufficient form to dust this gimmick off for the 2YO's in the first edition of my completely subjective 2YO Power Rankings. Some indication of the methodology is probably important, here is what I wrote in my second edition of the 3YO Power Rankings;

 "I guess what is required is a definition of 'Power' for the purpose of the power rankings, another thing I didn't do properly when I first attempted this. There is no formula, it is not the highest rated, nor are they a genuine indication of which 3YO would beat each other 3YO (all things been equal). I am applying an incredibly loose and very subjective definition of Power for these rankings will be an indication of my impression of a number of factors including

• Overall Record
• Recent Form
• Dominance of victories
• Form in 'big' races
• Form against other top 3YO (and older) talent
• Buzz (Media and Bookie)"

 Honourable Mention: Oasis Rose, Napatap
(10) Magic Shaft: Solid to date, debut was made at Group 3 level when he ran 3rd behind Warhorse and Irish Rebel, he followed this up with a second to Hogwarts Express, it is to early to say if that race will produce anything else of quality but the Group placing has a lot of merit at this point in the year.
(9) Hogwarts Express: Was 7th in the Karaka million, but this ranking is based on a body of work and performances up to this point, he was 3rd at Group 2 level, and consistently close prior to that.
(8) Mai Guru: 5th in the Karaka million, but together impressive performances prior to this he finds himself 8th in these rankings. He will continue to improve and should be more suited to 1200m next attempt.
(7) Choice Bro:  Ran home well in the Karaka Million for 4th, was chasing Silk Pins before having Warhorse and Ockhams Razor knock him down to forth, had a very impressive victory earlier on in the year.
(6) Hazel: Makes the list on the back of a strong second at Group 2 level. He showed a lot of fight down the straight and was beaten by a flying Pussy Willow.  Was 5th first start to Mai Guru and two others he went on to beat when he had a extra 100m in the race at Wellington.
(5) Irish Rebel: Was highly rated when he impressively won his first start. He has then put forward strong performances at Group level finishing second to Warhorse and forth to Pussy Willow.
(4) Pussy Willow: Undefeated in two starts including a win at Group 2 Level. She wound up brilliantly down the home straight to win against a big field.
(3) Warhorse: Despite having won only one of his four starts he has not been far away in the other starts. The 6th in the Wentwood Grange Stakes wasn't as bad as it looked and he was favourite for the Karaka Million up until the last few minutes.
(2) Silk Pins: She was half a length away from winning the Karaka million which should add to the hype, however the results before this add up to keep her this high on the list. She has beaten Warhorse twice now (in three meetings) and Travino once (in two meetings, and may have beaten him the second time with luck),. She was also able to overcome a lot of other good Two Year Olds on the weekend.
(1) Travino : He has to be number 1 at this point. He benefits from not facing a few of the other contenders over the last couple of months. He has won two at listed level and travelled to the Gold Coast for the Magic Millions, despite coming 12th in that event he has the results and hype to top this list.

It is still early in the year, 2YO's are still starting their campaigns, we have two Group 1's for this age group, it will be interesting to see who emerges over the rest of the summer and into the Autumn.