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By Brad Gray
At Royal Randwick

Hightailing It To Victory
The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Hightail took top honours in the opening race but it won't be long before Twentyfour Carat finds himself in the winners' stall too.

Race winner Hightail (Pic: Steve Hart)

Twentyfour Carat was jagged back in the run from barrier 8, in the field of 8, but hit the line full of running. Punters Intelligence reveals his last 200m was the quickest in the race at 11.29s. His last 600m also ranked fastest at 33.20s, compared to Hightail's 33.27s.

"He is a lovely horse but from the gate we were forced to ride him quietly. He'll make a nice three-year-old," said his hoop Tommy Berry.

As for the rest, throw Peralta into your blackbook. The son of Pierro, trained by David Payne, was only getting warm at the end of the 1150m, running his last 200m in 11.52s. His half-brother Latino Lover broke his maiden over 2200m.

"It was a really good run," said Peralta's jockey Jason Collett, "He is still quite immature but it was a good way to start his preparation off."

Sun Rising Ahead Of Autumn
The Autumn Sun is back 20kg heavier ahead of the autumn where he'll kick off in the G2 Hobartville Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill Gardens on February 23.

The Autumn Sun (Pic: Steve Hart)

"He has come back unbelievable," said Chris Waller.

"He needed to grow and develop and he has. His manners are fantastic. You wouldn't know he is a stallion and that to me suggests he'll be a force to be reckoned with in the autumn."

"I don’t know how good he is, I really don’t."

After the Hobartville it'll be the G1 Randwick Guineas but the colt's path after that is yet to be determined.

Waller is also expecting big things in the autumn from sprinters Lean Mean Machine and Zousain.

Too Pretty On Sweet Scandal
Chris Waller said the trick to getting Sweet Scandal back into the winners' stall was riding her aggressively.

Chris Waller (Pic: Bradley Photos)

"In a couple of races this preparation we have ridden her a bit too pretty. She likes to get out and stretch her legs," said the champion trainer.

Sam Weatherly took the mare straight to the front with Art Of The Bar unable to muster her usual speed, and controlled proceedings from there on in. Punters Intelligence highlights she ran 41.98s for her first 700m before slipping home her last 600m in 33.75s.

"She can get to a Listed race without any doubt at all. She is still developing, is very lightly raced and her best is yet to come," said Waller.

Stella Conquered But All Not Lost
Jay Ford couldn't quite believe he was beaten on Sei Stella but was still full of praise for the mare.

"Obviously the other horse (Heart Conquered) is very smart," said Ford, "She has run out of her skin. Although she was beaten, I’m rapt with how she went . The time reflects that. Today’s effort was far superior to her Highway win but just ran into a better one on the day."

The time was 56.01s, a new track record for the 1000m on the Kensington track, smashing the previous mark of 56.60s.

Tommy Berry said of Heart Conquered, "He couldn’t have run much quicker than he did. He is a beautiful horse, he runs at his own speed. I had to keep him wide on the track because I knew if I came up to Jay my horse would want to make a race of it."

Trainer Michael Hawkes confirmed that Heart Conquered, having won three straight, would head to the paddock now.

Heart Conquered vs Sei Stella! 🔥

Which one are you with? pic.twitter.com/Jv6JhIhNuK

— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) January 5, 2019

Check out the results and replays for the Kensington meeting.