Hot Rodd takes the lead

He started last night tied with countryman Vlad Duric at 15 winners apiece but sat second on the table on countback for second placings.

But jockey Michael Rodd punched his way to front in the first race on AMAZING MAN and then rode another masterful race in the fifth on SPLICE to steer two winners clear of Duric, whose three rides yielded a second and two thirds.

Rodd finished second on Billy Britain, who was beaten in a dog fight with Manoel Nunes on TURQUOISE KING in Race 7.

Rodd's final ride, Smart Lad in Race 8, surprisingly started as the $22 favourite despite an unfavourable 1,200m trip and came from a long last to finish third to HOST THE NATION.

The score between Rodd and Duric is now 17-15.

Amazing Man was a winner in waiting.

The Sonny Yeoh-trained four-year-old ran top races without winning in his last three starts with apprentice S Shafrizal astride and the nomination of Rodd was surely a big riding change.

Furthermore, Amazing Man had worked diligently on Tuesday morning. It was therefore no surprise he was hammered down as the $10 favourite.

Rodd sat Amazing Man nice and relaxed in midfield, albeit a bit wide. He started to circle round the field from the 600m bend and already had the Class 5 Div 1 race over the Polytrack 1,200m sewn up with 300m left to run. Duric's mount, The Dodger, moved up but was a well-beaten second.

It was Amazing Man's first success in 13 starts.

Rodd also brought the Cliff Brown-trained $26 chance Splice from midfield to win.

But, this time, he bided his time with a ground-saving ride on the inside to beat the $14 favourite Noble Liaison by a head in the Class 4 Div 2 event over 1,400m for his seventh victory.

Duric was unlucky in the race. His mount, Mr Crowe, hit a wall at the top of the straight but plugged on to finish third, three-quarter lengths away.

Whether he could have won with a clear passage was debatable.