While the three-year-olds were the headline acts in Sydney, Makybe Diva Stakes Day at Flemington saw the older horses continue to shape the picture towards the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups and the Cox Plate.Palentino was an impressive winner of the $500,000 Group I Makybe Diva Stakes -- renamed in 2006 to honour the three-time Melbourne Cup-winning mare. The $8.50 UBET second favourite defeated the $2.10 favourite Black Heart Bart, and the pair provided trainer Darren Weir with a Group I quinella.Palentinos victory showed just how good form at Flemington can keep delivering. After winning the Group I Australian Guineas, also over 1600 metres, at the same track in March, the wider open spaces of the bigger course had Palentino feeling at home once again.Faatinah, meanwhile, was an impressive winner of the Group II Bobbie Lewis Quality (1200m).Described by David Hayes as a fraction allergic to work, the four-year-old gelding has his co-trainer aspiring to take him to Dubai for feature races in March. More immediately, having finished 2.7 lengths behind Black Heart Bart in the Group I The Goodwood (1200m) in Adelaide in March, Faatinah may have further strong winning prospects as the Melbourne Spring Carnival rolls on.Headline ActDarren Weir has more than a hundred horses in work at any one time, but you just cant go too far wrong following him.The decision to run Palentino at Flemington on Saturday rather than taking another similar option at Caulfield saw just how slickly the Weir team operates, with assistant trainer Jerome Hunter reminding Weir of the horses strong Flemington credentials earlier this week and hence influenced the decision to take on the WFA contest.Despite Palentinos penchant for headquarters, UBET rate him a $16 chance for the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley and that may provide some value for each-way punters.Apart from training the Makybe Diva Stakes quinella, Weir notched a double with Royal Rapture winning the final event to take the lightly raced seven-year-olds record to four wins from six outings.Talking PointsMelbourne 3yos v Sydney 3yosAlways a topic of hot conversation, particularly in stoking the major city rivalry.But it is very clear that the Sydney-based class of 2016/17 are superior to their southern peers.Astern was a most impressive winner of the Group I Golden Rose (1400m) at Rosehill, as tipped by Scott Heinrich in the ESPN Weekend Preview, with Omei Sword and Impending filling the minor placings.Back at Flemington, the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained Detective won the Listed Starlight Express Room Stakes (1400m) but post-race Peter noted that he didnt think that Detective was up to winning a race like the Caulfield Guineas next month.This all points to a Sydney domination of the Caulfield Guineas (8 October) and Thousand Guineas (15 October), with Astern holding favouritism with UBET at $4.40 for the earlier race, and Omei Sword at $3.60 for the latter.Is Black Heart Bart a miler?Despite not winning, there was little to suggest that he isnt capable of being successful at a mile or further. The Weir stable have Cox Plate-aspirations for their two-time Group I winner who is currently at $21 with UBET for the Moonee Valley feature.Although beaten by one length by Palentino, the three-length margin to the majority of the field would give punters some confidence -- but maybe little consolation -- that Bart was just beaten by a better horse on the day at a track less suitable.Blackheart Bart will head to Caulfield on Sep. 24 for the Group I Underwood Stakes over 1800 metres, which will give everyone a much better indication of his ability to reach the longer trips -- and at a course where he has already been successful.EyecatchersPrince of Penzance: After the 2016 Emirates Melbourne Cup we all may well be saying how did he go around at 150-1 last year, and you could still get $31 (UBET) in September?.He just continues to be a surprise packet without winning. He looked very well in the mounting yard at Flemington, as he did at Caulfield before the Memsie Stakes, and ran accordingly into sixth placing at $81 -- less than three lengths behind Palentino.Darren Weir described Harry Coffeys ride as a learning experience and suggested that a more uninhibited course through the field could have been taken, but the trainer was happy with his run nonetheless.Manageress: The impressive return of this four-year-old mare has been well documented after surgery to remove bone chips from a knee immediately after her second placing to Lucia Valentina at Flemington in November 2015.Similarly with Bon Aurum, who won the Listed The Sofitel (1400m); trainer Ciaron Maher noted that he underwent a similar operation during last season, which bodes well for others in that situation in their recovery.Manageress third placing in the Group II Lets Elope Stakes (1400m) continued her very good form at this track.BlackbookersThrossell: Each time he steps out he looks like a Derby contender. While the 1400 metres of the Starlight Express Room Stakes was well short of the 2500 metres Flemington classic distance, Throssels third placing here suggested he was well on track for the 29 October feature.He Or She: Jockey Craig Williams said he loved the way he kept finding as the former Perth galloper finished off well into third placing in the Makybe Diva Stakes. This may well be the characteristic youll be looking for as the distances step up.Hi World: Jockey Dwayne Dunn suggested a step-up to a race over mile would suit this horse next time. There is a win in this one somewhere but he is very hard to catch.FlopsXtravagant: After crossing the Tasman with great expectations following a Group I victory in New Zealand in February, Xtravagant was very disappointing in the Australian Guineas at Flemington a month later.Going into the Bobbie Lewis Quality first-up, it was hoped he would return to his previously impressive self. He didnt, running much like the Lay of the Day that Scott Heinrich suggested in his weekend racing preview on Friday.Stewards failed to find any medical abnormalities, but co-trainer Stephen Autridge suggested that Xtravagant may be a better horse when racing around a turn rather than down the straight six course at Flemington. Either way, punters will be very wary of this Kiwi invader in future.Defcon: Starting at $3.10 in the Group II Danehill Stakes (1200m), despite Scott Heinrich suggesting he was under the odds at $4, this Snowden-trained three-year-old was well expected to follow up on his victory at Caulfield a fortnight earlier. Unplaced here, vets found that Defcon had pulled-up lame in the near foreleg.Seaburge: Despite competing in a very open race, Seaburge may have been disappointing for punters who backed him as second-favourite at $7 with UBET. 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