IN light rain that fell most of the day, reducing the track from good to soft going, the Lope De Vega gelding Gytrash dealt a telling blow to his better-performed rivals, landing his first Group 1 win in the 1,000 metre Black Caviar Lightning, thus preserving his unbeaten streak in straight-track racing.
Not surprisingly, Royal Ascot’s Nick Smith was on hand to congratulate Gytrash’s Adelaide-based trainer Gordon Richards, aged 68.
“To be totally honest, it’s not something I had previously considered but there are a lot of positives,” said Richards of the approach from Royal Ascot’s Director of Racing.
“He is such a relaxed customer and travels around without turning a hair. He is also obviously very effective up the straight. You saw his owners at Flemington, they’re a crazy bunch. I reckon Royal Ascot wouldn’t be hard to sell to them.”
Having won three of his past four races, all on rain affected ground and up the Flemington straight, Gytrash sat off the pace set by the dual Everest winner Redzel before taking over and presenting a clean pair of heels to win by a length as the I Am Invincible filly Loving Gaby ran on strongly for third place behind the Snitzel gelding Redzel.
Nature Strip, the odds-on favourite, over-raced and faded to a three-length fourth place after leading early on the outside rail.
Bought as a weanling for A$70,000 from the Inglis Great Southern Sale, Gytrash was put back into the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale where Gorden Richards picked him up for $40,000. He has now won seven from 15 and over $880,000.
Blood flows in Guineas trial
THE cameo nearly stole the show at Flemington.
The Group 3 C.S. Hayes Stakes for three-years-old colts and geldings over 1,400 metres brought together the New Zealand 2000 Guineas winner Catalyst and the Caulfield Guineas runner-up Alligator Blood, beaten by a nose. The pair didn’t disappoint.
In a stirring duel, they went shoulder-to-shoulder from the top of the straight with neither wilting. Hitting the line locked together, the All Too Hard gelding Alligator Blood got the judge’s nod, by a nose over the Darci Brahma gelding. The result creates the potential for a vintage Australian Guineas at the end of the month where both will clash again.
“They are a couple of stars those two,” said Alligator Blood’s trainer David Van Dyke. “Wow, that’s his best performance. We’ve never seen him go head-and-head with another horse, he usually gets there pretty quick and he’s dominant.
“They didn’t muck around, some of the sectionals were pretty slick and you can’t go much quicker than what they did on a soft track.”
Alligator Blood has now from nine from 10 including the Magic Millions 3YO Classic having been bought for $55,000 as a yearling on the Gold Coast.
Dragon roars back into Derby picture
SCRATCHED from the Waikato Guineas a week earlier with an elevated temperature, Dragon Leap took his position in Saturday’s Group 2 Avondale Guineas and roared back into Derby calculations. Positioned just forward of mid-field the son of Pierro was brought off the rail and taken wide on the bend by Opie Bosson.
On straightening he loomed into the race, overwhelmed his rivals and won by a widening two lengths.
“There was a little bit of a question mark but (co-trainer) Andrew (Scott) and I looked at him before the race and he really lined up looking fit and healthy,” said co-trainer Lance O’Sullivan. “It was just good to see him put it all together. One of his main attributes is his temperament and the way he behaves, as big occasions just aren’t going to worry him. It was a great ride from Opie and quite a soft win.”
Purchased for A$1.05 million by Hermitage Thoroughbreds from the draft of Coolmore at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling sale, Dragon Leap has an ambition plan in front of him that could see him contest the New Zealand Derby, the Australian Derby at Randwick and the 2021 Hong Kong Derby.
“The order was to buy the best middle-distance horse at the sale and this is the horse I believed fitted the bill perfectly,” said Andrew Williams of the Pierro colt. “He should be unbeaten, he’s a serious horse and hopefully we’re in for a big few months with him.”
Godolphin trio in Light Fingers
GODOLPHIN made a clean sweep of the Group 2 Light Fingers Stakes at Randwick on Saturday landing the trifecta in the 1,200 metres sprint.
Flit (by Medaglia D’Oro), Lyre (Lonhro) and the Golden Slipper winner Kiamichi (Sidestep) filled the placings, with James Cummings training first and third, and Anthony Freedman splitting them with the Blue Diamond Stakes winner.
James Cummings backed up the win by the 1000 Guineas winner Flit with a victory from the Sepoy mare Alizee in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes. She is bound for the A$5 million All-Star Mile in Melbourne on March 14th.