3 minute read
A look at some of the other angles from Spring Champion Stakes Day at Randwick.
Comedy stands up in Randwick debut
The powerful Godolphin operation has notched its first juvenile winner of the season with two-year-old colt Comedy leading in a stable trifecta in the Kirkham Plate at Randwick.
Ridden by Kerrin Mcevoy, Comedy did not have things all his own way in Saturday's 1000m race but after sitting three-wide in the small field, the Snitzel colt knuckled down to his task in the straight to chase down his James Cummings-trained stablemate Gaeilge.
Comedy, the $2.50 favourite, defeated Gaeilge by a half-length with another two lengths back to another stablemate Lapis Lazuli in third.
Cummings had only had one other juvenile runner so far in this season's early two-year-old races, with Burma Star runner-up at Warwick Farm earlier in the month.
McEvoy said he did not want to drag Comedy back just to get cover early and liked the way the colt finished off.
"I just thought, I've got to be as close as I can be and that meant just having him up there without any cover," McEvoy said.
"But he was quite good around the corner. I was hopeful at the 300m and then at the 150m I thought, 'yeah, I'm going to grab this horse now'.
"And the further he went the better he went."
McEvoy said Comedy was a lovely colt with a good attitude.
"It's the only time I've ridden him but no doubt he can just keep progressing the right way," he said.
"He's a nice colt for the future."
Cummings' assistant trainer Darren Beadman said Comedy was quite mentally mature for a young horse and had plenty of scope.
Beadman indicated the team would see how Comedy came through the race before deciding whether he pressed on to the $1 million Golden Gift at Rosehill in a couple of weeks.
Eagle soars in Randwick sprint
Gerald Ryan has waited more than a decade for his luck in the Brian Crowley Stakes to turn around and it finally has with Amazing Eagle surviving a protest to claim the Listed sprint.
Ryan last won the Randwick feature with Hot Snitzel in 2011 but said he had been forced to settle for the minor prize a number of times since.
"Looking back before when I had Hot Snitzel, he won the race, and six out of the last ten years we've run second in it," Ryan said.
"I said to Tyler (Schiller), 'if you run second today, don't come back in'."
First-up since March, Schiller took Amazing Eagle to the front and he kicked strongly in the straight before his condition gave out late, but he had enough in the tank to hold off the late challenge of Adam Hyeronimus aboard Manos by a half-head.
Hyeronimus fired in a protest, alleging Amazing Eagle shifted in approaching the 100m and took his rightful running, but the objection was dismissed by stewards, who found the jockey elected to switch outside Amazing Eagle's heels when there was still a run to its inside.
The winner, who underwent surgery for a small knee chip prior to his latest campaign, is likely to be aimed towards the Magic Millions carnival in January.
Country Champs a long-range aim for Cable Express
A couple of hours before Danielle Seib saddled up her first Group 1 runner in the Spring Champion Stakes, the Goulburn trainer was celebrating a Highway Handicap win with Cable Express at Randwick.
Seib has Country Championships ambitions for Cable Express next autumn after the four-year-old gelding rallied late to win Saturday's 1600m Highway by a half-head over The Right Rein.
Along with the winner, Seib also trained third placegetter Ghost Walker who was only a short neck away in a tight finish.
"He really hit a flat spot there halfway down the straight, but one thing about this horse all along is that he's been really genuine," Seib said of Cable Express.
"He never shirks a task."
Seib believes Cable Express, who has now won three of his seven starts, has the potential to be a County Championships horse next campaign.
"Obviously that was a mile today, but he wasn't screwed down for today, so that just points to his quality," Seib said.
"This prep is about Country Championships for him, just protecting his benchmark. Obviously he's a (benchmark of) 65 or so, so that will get us quite a few (ratings points) and you would think that would put us into the field.
"So whether we give him another one and then perhaps pop him away, that's where we'll be heading."
The Seib-trained Due Calzini was later sent out a $101 chance in the Spring Champion Stakes and finished at the tail of the field, 8.5 lengths off the winner El Castello.
Lindermann rebounds in Craven Plate
Joao Moreira has returned to the feature race winner's stall in Sydney for the first time in more than 12 months with a Craven Plate success aboard the Chris Waller-trained Lindermann.
While the globetrotting jockey recently took out the Underwood Stakes in Melbourne on Lindermann's barn mate Buckaroo, Moreira's last Group victory in Sydney came via Militarize in the 2023 Golden Rose.
"It has been a while, hasn't it?" Moreira said.
"He was a bit unlucky….he wasn't really able to get out (from behind) the leader straight away.
"Very nice win, very nice horse and I honestly think he won the race at the start having such a great start."
From the inside alley, Lindermann ($4.20) bounced well and settled third on the fence and while he was pocketed for the first half of the straight, he eventually shouldered clear to run down Spirit Ridge ($31) by a head.
It was in contrast to his first-up run when he finished down the track in the Alan Brown Stakes (1500m) after being jagged back from a wide draw in an on-pace dominated race.
Lindermann had been slated to contest the Five Diamonds Prelude (1500m) on the Randwick program but was scratched in favour of the Craven Plate (1800m) when he drew an outside gate.
Quote of the Day: "He had three hooves and his tail out of the door. We were about to sack him. And since then, he's just turned it around completely." – Trainer Bjorn Baker on Five Diamonds Prelude winner Iknowastar.
