Ladbrokes Stakes (Group 1)

GROUP 1-placed in Saratoga at his final start for Aidan O’Brien in August, Cape Of Good Hope has swapped hemispheres, completed quarantine and proved himself a Group 1 winner at his first start in Australia.

Now in the care of Hayes, Hayes and Dabernig, the Galileo horse was of passing interest to punters who sent him out at $21 in the 2,000-metre Ladbrokes Caulfield Stakes last Saturday.

Mid-field and tracking the last start Group 1 winner Black Heart Bart, Mark Zahra peeled off that horse’s heels once straightened. Needing time to hit his stride, Cape Of Good Hope wound in the sprightly Blackfriars nine-year-old before matching strides with him in the closing stages. With the final 20 metres in his favour, Cape Of Good Hope posted his maiden Group 1 win by a short half-head as the Champs Elysees eight-year-old Harlem rounded out the placings more than a length away, nosing out the race favourite Avilius who just had too much work to do from the back of the field.

Coolmore

“I wish I had a little bit more of a share in him in now,” said David Hayes of Cape Of Good Hope who races in the navy colours, with Coolmore remaining in the ownership syndicate. “I bought these two (he also purchased the Gallinule Stakes winner Constantinople who contests today’s Caulfield Cup) as three-year-olds thinking the boys will have some fun with them as four-year-olds when I go to Hong Kong. But the old man might just have a bit of fun first.”

Hayes is set to return to Hong Kong to replace the retiring John Moore; in the meantime Cape Of Good Hope will head to the Cox Plate on Saturday week. “He’s got probably one of the best pedigrees in the world so we thought the Cox Plate and the Mackinnon were his two main aims and this was a nice warm-up race,” added Hayes. “Now he is a Group 1 winner, he’s by the best sire in the world, with the best female family – Highland Reel in the first dam, we’ve got something to work with.”

Seth Super in Guineas

Ladbrokes Caulfield Guineas (Group 1)

IN the closing stages of the Caulfield Guineas, David Van Dyke was daring to dream, his unbeaten All Too Hard gelding Alligator Blood had shot two lengths clear inside the final furlong. With the field covered, only Super Seth was up for the challenge.

Six lengths off Alligator Blood at the top of the straight, Mark Zahra got every inch out of the Dundeel colt to pip the runaway leader in the last stride. A devastated Van Dyke was magnanimous in defeat, acknowledging the hurt, but looking ahead. The pair were over two lengths clear of the 14 other runners with third going to Groundswell, the A$2.3 million Fastnet Rock sale-topper from the 2017 Sydney Easter yearling sale.

Stablemates Super Seth and Groundswell are trained by Anthony Freedman with both owned by a syndicate headed by Jonathon Munz’s Pinecliff Racing.

“I wasn’t always convinced he’d run a mile to be honest and being a colt, the goal was to always win one of these (stallion-making races) with him so I thought the Coolmore might be the aim,” said Freedman. “But he showed us enough to go in this direction and he’s proven himself today.”

Mark Zahra explained: “I just lost my spot around the bend and when I finally got him to balance and level out, he really let rip. He’ll get even further I think.”

Fifth in the Guineas Prelude to Alligator Blood, Super Seth now improves his record to four wins from seven starts. He had been bought for $280,000 from the same sale as Groundswell, both from the Arrowfield draft.

Schweppes Thousand Guineas (Group 1)

THE Medaglia D’Oro filly Flit was three back on the fence and lacking clear air in the Thousand Guineas at Caulfield on Saturday. Patiently, Hugh Bowman waited and the gaps came for the Godolphin filly.

Charging after the Fastnet Rock filly Southbank, Missile Mantra was also quickly onto the scene as the three hit the line in the best finish of the day. A nose, by a nose signalled the judge as Flit got the nod from Missile Mantra by Smart Missile with Southbank third.

“She lifted when the pressure came,” said Bowman. “She’s a quality filly. It wasn’t a test because it was only a sprint home so I actually don’t think we saw the best of her.”

THE Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained The Chosen One has won a ballot-free entry into the Caulfield Cup following his victory in the Herbert Power Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday. The Savabeel gelding come from near the tail to run down last year’s Melbourne Cup third-placegetter Prince Of Arran to deny the Charlie Fellowes charge. “He’s a pretty smart horse who hasn’t had much racing (14 starts) and I think we’ll go to the Caulfield Cup now,” said Baker.

THE July Cup winner Ten Sovereigns has drawn barrier 11 of 12 for today’s A$14 million The Everest over 1,200 metres at Randwick. Race favourites Pierata and Santa Ana Lane have drawn one and two respectively, while the only horse to have won The Everest (twice), Redzel has drawn seven.

What may help Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore in their planning is that Nature Strip, a natural leader, is to their outside and is bound to inject speed from the jump. The forecast for Randwick is for dry conditions.

Trekking in

THE Stradbroke Handicap winner Trekking has won his way into today’s A$14 million Everest thanks to Saturday’s victory in Saturday’s Schillaci Stakes at Caulfield. The Melbourne Racing Club had purchased a slot for the Everest and offered that as an incentive to the winner of the Schillaci, thus preserving the relevance of their 1,100-metre Group 2 which ran the risk of becoming ‘collateral damage’ in the battle between Racing New South Wales and Racing Victoria.

Trekking will be Godolphin’s second runner in the Everest with Alizee filling Godolphin’s own slot.

IRISH-BRED Group 1 winner Kings Will Dream has been withdrawn from the Caulfield Cup following an elevated temperature over the weekend. As winner of the Turnbull Stakes, the Casamento gelding was exempt from the ballot, with the Chris Waller stable now targeting the Cox Plate.

The Ebor fourth-placed Raymond Tusk has also been withdrawn from the Caulfield Cup following Jamie Spencer’s assessment of the quick ground. The Richard Hannon-trained High Chaparral horse will go straight to the Melbourne Cup. Spencer’s only ride last Saturday was sixth on Raheen House in the Herbert Power following the scratching of Danceteria after showing signs of mucus on race morning, he will now head to the Cox Plate Saturday week.

THE Willlie Mullins-trained True Self is second emergency in the 18-horse field for the A$5 million Caulfield Cup and will be unlikely to get a run having been leapfrogged by Wolfe who won Wednesday’s Coongy Handicap, thus gaining automatic entry.

Favourite for the Caulfield Cup is the Chris Waller-trained Finche, and the Frankel gelding drew wide in barrier 19. In the market he heads the Japanese-trained horse Mer De Glace, the Ebor winner Mustajeer, Constantinople and Mr Quickie. Ian Williams has Gold Mount in the field, and Ed Dunlop’s Red Verdon returns having run 11th last year. Only six of the 22 entries (including emergencies) were bred in Australia or New Zealand.