Time’s up for Sabkhat in not-so-fast opening

THERE was an amendment made to the official sectional time of Sabkhat's blistering Doomben win on Saturday that makes more sense of the way the race panned out.

On course, the semaphore board showed an official time of 1min 18.28sec and sectional of 35.51sec.

At that time, according to data provided by Daniel O'Sullivan of BetSmart, Sabkhat's first 750m of 42.77sec would have been the fifth fastest run over the Doomben 1350m this decade.

However, the official times recorded after the race amended the sectional to 34.28sec, which put Sabkhat's first 750m at a less frantic 44sec.

The 44sec ranks him at 105 out of the 626 races run over the trip at Doomben since 2010.

The quickest section in the time frame came in Music Magnate's 2016 Doomben 10,000, where Two Blue, Fell Swoop and Hooked carved up each other in a 42.05sec first section.

Natural Destiny's long-standing course record of 1min 17.09sec in 2006 came off the back of a 42.46sec opener and a closing split of 34.63sec.

THIS WEEK

Tuesday: Mackay, Newcastle, Albury, Geelong (synthetic).

Wednesday: Ipswich, Warwick Farm, Sale, Morphettville, Belmont, Darwin.

Thursday: Rockhampton, Hawkesbury, Coffs Harbour, Pakenham (synthetic), Northam

Friday: Gatton, Wyong, Goulburn, Geelong (synthetic), Carnarvon.

Saturday: Doomben, Randwick, Moonee Valley, Morphettville Parks, Belmont, Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Cairns, Bowen, Corfield, Goondiwindi, Middlemount, Nanango, Tambo, Kembla Grange, Wangaratta, Darwin.

Sunday: Sunshine Coast, Muswellbrook, Gundagai, Sandown Lakeside, Naracoorte, Port Hedland, Devonport (synthetic).