Charter Keck Cramer Moir Stakes (Group 1)

TRAINERS Troy Corstens and Will Larkin got their spring off to a flying start with Baraqiel’s Group 1 victory in the Moir Stakes at Moonee Valley on Saturday.

A Group 2 winner at the same track in October last year, Baraqiel drew eight of 14 for the 1,000 metre sprint. Mid-field and racing keenly, jockey Ben Allen was working hard before the turn on Baraqiel.

The Snitzel gelding responded, his zest for racing seeing him take narrow gaps after being buffeted around the final bend. Splitting the leading Alabama Lass and Arabian Summer in the final 25 metres, Baraqiel relegated the Alabama Express and Too Darn Hot fillies to second and third, taking the win by a half-length on the line.

“100%,” said a visibly emotional Troy Corstens when asked if this was his biggest training achievement.

Very special

“It’s amazing and to do it with him. It’s very special. I think about it every time I go to the races.

“With him, he’s so fragile. You never know when it’s coming.

“You know it’s going to come and you hope you can hold him together for as long as we can. He loves it here.”

A seven-year-old, Baraqiel has started 12 times for eight wins and three thirds for over A$1.12 million in earnings, having been bought for $150,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

“Bring on the (Group 1) Manikato (Stakes, September 26th),” added Corstens. “We’ll run there and he’ll be a great chance in that, then hopefully we’re fielding calls from Sydney for The Everest.”

THE Street Boss gelding Pericles claimed the first milestone of the post-James Cummings era with a well-taken win for Godolphin in the Group 2 Tramway Stakes for new trainer Bjorn Baker.

Breaking clear at the top of the straight, Pericles kept his 15 rivals at bay winning by over a length from the even-money favourite Private Eye with the Vadamos gelding With Your Blessing in third.

“He is very laid-back, very straightforward and huge to win for Godolphin,” said Bjorn Baker. “I’m a bit of a racing purist and history buff.

“My father (former trainer Murray Baker) is here today, to win a race for a global superpower like Godolphin is a huge thrill for me, my family and my team.

“We all know how important it is and how lucky we are. He’s a very good horse. Anybody could train him.”

A half-brother to the Group 1 winners Helmet and Epaulette, Pericles has improved his record to seven wins and 10 placings from 28 starts for over A$5.6 million in earnings.

Changingoftheguard off the mark

THE former Aidan O’Brien-trained Changingoftheguard has won his first Australian start at his sixth attempt.

The Galileo gelding got the better of the hot favourite Travolta by Lope De Vega to win the Listed A$200,000 Tattersalls Club Cup over 2,400 metres at Randwick, in a field composed of four Irish-bred horses and the British-bred runner-up.

“Changingoftheguard is a genuine staying type and this race will bring him on again,” said trainer Kris Lees afterwards.

“This was only Changingoftheguard’s 15th start, he had a long time off and he’s been a work in progress but it is very satisfying watching him win for his connections.

“There are a lot of options for him but I would suggest he will have four weeks to The Metropolitan and then hopefully the Melbourne Cup.”

Nominated for both the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup, Changingoftheguard races in the colours of Lloyd and Nick Williams, whose syndicated put together the purchase.

WITH a population of 110 and situated 1,590 kilometres west of Brisbane near the Queensland, Northern Territory and South Australian State borders, Birdsville is home to the iconic Birdsville Races, held in aid of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and first run in 1882.

Dubbed the Melbourne Cup of the Outback, the Birdsville Cup’s 143rd edition was run last Saturday, with the population of the town, on the eastern fringe of the Simpson Desert in central Australia, surging each year by up to 7,000 as four-wheel drives and light planes flock to the region.

With 13 races held over the event’s two days, this year’s Birdsville Cup, worth A$60,000 and held over a mile, was won by the $8 chance Testator Silens for trainer Clinton Austin who had the 4kg-claiming apprentice Bailie Baker up in this just her sixth career win. Part-owner Chris ‘Choppy’ Close is a former Rugby League player who starred in State Of Origin clashes for Queensland against New South Wales. “Who can say they owned a horse that won the Birdsville Cup? Not many Australians,” said Close. “Nothing beats State of Origin.”

New Zealand

Proisir Plate (Group 1)

THE Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained Te Akau mare Quintessa produced a scintillating run from the rear of the field to land the first New Zealand Group 1 of the season.

Having not won since August last year, the Shamus Award mare was a generous $35 chance with Rory Hutchings on top for the Group 1 Proisir Plate over Ellerlie’s 1,400 metres.

Ridden for luck from the second widest barrier in the 16-horse field, Hutchins saved his mount for one run, angling towards the middle of the track on straightening in slow conditions.

In a barnstorming charge to the front of the field, there was time to celebrate as Quintessa won by nearly two lengths ahead of the Vadamos mare La Crique with the Tarzino mare Tomodachi in third.

Patient ride

“Quintessa was incredible today,” said co-trainer Sam Bergerson. “It was a very patient ride. We left it up to Rory, really. I asked him what he thought, and he said, ‘I’ll go back and will probably ride for luck,’ but then he ended up going the widest.

“She’s a fantastic mare and it’s great to see her back in form. She’s pretty unassuming at home. She’d be one of the worst trackworkers in Matamata. But once those shades go on and she sees the crowd and gets a bit of a buzz for it, she’s just so genuine and tries so hard.

“It was fantastic to get Rory over (from Sydney). He gave her an A1 ride, so patient. I think the mile (of the Group 1 Howden Insurance Mile at Te Rapa on 27th September) is the logical next step,