The Furphy Goodwood (Group 1)

JUMPING from barrier two, Savatoxl took the most direct route to post a strong two-length win in the Group 1 Goodwood over 1,200 metres at Morphettville last Saturday.

Ridden by South African-born Barend Vorster who found his way to Australia via Singapore, the Kuroshio gelding was simply too fast for his rivals, consigning the last-start Sangster Stakes winner Instant Celebrity to second with the Group 1-winning Lope De Vega gelding Gytrash third.

“You know, I came here thinking and hoping to run well but wasn’t sure about winning,” said trainer Tony McEvoy. “But here we are. It has been an incredible journey. To do that today in that class, well, he’s gone to new heights.

“The owners from Alice Springs kept telling me how the good the horse was but I just wanted to see it. Barend (Vorster) was fantastic. And to win it on home soil was just terrific. The horse has booked a ticket to Queensland now, with the (Group 1) Stradbroke likely.”

The win was Savatoxl’s first test at a Group 1 having done the majority of his racing in Alice Springs and Darwin, and for Vorster it was his second Group 1 in Australia.

“It’s just a great feeling to win this Group 1, on this horse, for the McEvoys who have been great supporters of mine and my first (Group 1) in SA (South Australia),” said Vorster.

Eduardo a bulldog to the finish

TAB Doomben 10,000 (Group 1)

THE Joseph Pride-trained Eduardo, third in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes over The Championships at Randwick to Nature Strip, has bounced back to the winners’ circle with victory in the Doomben 10,000 in Brisbane.

The $1 million Group 1 held over Doomben’s 1,200 metre course was a wire-to-wire effort for the seven-year-old Host gelding who had been sent out in the red at $1.70.

“He is a great horse. He got the job done,” said Pride. “It is a testament to the quality he has. You don’t often see a horse that has so much speed have so much fight. He is a bulldog, he just keeps fighting. He will have a little break in Queensland. He seems to like it up here.

“He will have a break before the spring and look forward to what he can do next time around.” The win was Eduardo’s eighth from 21 starts, catapulting his earnings to A$2.6 million.

THE four-year-old So You Think mare Realm Of Flowers is the first horse into the 2021 Lexus Melbourne Cup courtesy of Saturday’s victory in the Listed Andrew Ramsden over 2,800 metres which carried a ballot-free entry in the A$7.75 million handicap.

Trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman, Realm Of Flowers chimed in with style four-wide on Flemington’s final bend. Extending well over the closing stages, she strung out her rivals to post an emphatic five-length win over the Champs Elysees gelding Grand Promenade with the 2019 VIctoria Oaks winner Miami Bound, by Reliable Man in third.

“She’s a great mare to train,” said Anthony Freedman. “There are no hiccups with her. She deserves a chance (at the Melbourne Cup) and I’d say, she can get a nice cheque. She’ll get a bit of weight relief. I think her rating will be a tick over 100 now so that won’t put her too far up the weights and the race you’d think will be a bit short on, certainly with the overseas horses.”

Coolmore

A $180,000 Inglis Easter purchase, Realm Of Flowers previous best result was a win in the Group 3 South Australian Classic 12 months ago. For So You Think, presently fourth on the General Sires’ Table, the win was his 12 stakes-winner of the season with the Coolmore horse to stand the 2021 season at $77,000.

Payne trains two for

client, the ‘Iranian Messi’

NOT many trainers can count Irianian football stars amongst their clientele, but Michelle Payne has that covered. Sardar Azmoun, dubbed the ‘Iranian Messi’ and presently playing for Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg, now has two horses owned by Azmoun in her care after the pair spent A$70,000 on a Palentino colt at the recent Inglis Gold Yearling Sale at Oaklands.

“He is a really fun guy who loves horses and is very supportive. It’s been a lot of fun so far, so hopefully we can have some success” said Payne.

“We speak most days, he is very passionate about his racing. He has got quite a big stable in Iran and we talk about his horses over there and I talk with his farm manager over there.”