WHILE the majority of interest revolved around Spanish Mission, with new owners and trainer, and Glen Boss on board for his final race before retirement, it was the Mike Moroney-trained Sound who stole the show in the Group 2 Zipping Classic over 2,400 metres at Caulfield. Having bypassed the Melbourne Cup, the German-bred Sound made it back-to-back Zipping Classics, the only two wins for the Lando entire in his three years in Australia.

German horses

“Nine years old and probably racing at his best,” said Moroney. “These staying-bred horses, German horses in particular, they’ve got longevity in their legs without any doubt and he’s done a great job. He’s now won $1.8 million in prize money.

“He has been a bit maligned as being a bridesmaid but he got it today. He’s hopefully going to find a stud in New Zealand. It is a good place to breed nice stayers and they are renowned for doing it. He’d be the right sort of horse in the right home.”

The Dansili gelding Drill was second ahead of the Pour Moi gelding Wentwood just ahead of Spanish Mission who handled neither the drop back in distance nor the firm going.

“What a fitting way to go out,” said Glen Boss of his final ride. “I gave that horse every possible hop. I got in the zone, I felt good.”

Crown Perth-Winterbottom Stakes (Group 1)

THE Grant and Alana Williams-trained Graceful Girl produced a withering run from the tail of the field to win the Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes in style at Perth’s Ascot racecourse on Saturday.

With Willie Pike on board for owner Bob Peters, co-trainers, jockey and owner now have the rare opportunity of sweeping West Australia’s three summer A$1 million Group 1 races.

Having won the previous week’s Railway Stakes with Western Empire, they will again saddle up Western Empire today in the Kingstown Town Classic, most likely going around an odds-on favourite.

“We’ve had people win two and win two again. It’s never been done before and I think that would be a pretty hard task,” said Peters of the possibility.

Saturday’s win was Peters’ first in the race since Petite Amour in 1994 and for good measure he landed the quinella in Saturday’s Winterbottom as the Written Tycoon gelding Stageman, trained by Adam Durrant and sporting Peters’ distinctive cerise with crosses, was solid to the line, though three lengths in arrears of Graceful Girl.

Third home was the race favourite Elite Street who shaped as the winner at the top of the straight.

“If you’d have said I could circle the field and win in a canter before the race I would never have believed it. She’s just got all heart, this horse. She’s so good,” said Willie Pike of the Nicconi mare.

Expectations

“I suppose with the (wide) barrier, expectations sort of come off a little bit so you can go and enjoy it a bit more when you aren’t such a red-hot favourite.”

Asked about the prospect of landing the Group 1 treble Pike was keen: “I’ve tried to do the treble before and gone close, so it looks like being my best year to try and achieve it, so fingers crossed. I know the horse (Western Empire) is good enough.”

Williams expanding with satellite stable in Melbourne

HAVING got a taste for the prize money on offer in the Eastern States through the exploits of some of Bob Peters stable stars, leading West Australian trainers Grant and Alana Williams have announced the opening of a satellite stable in Melbourne.

“The racing industry is consistently growing and evolving and we need to continue to develop our business model so as to provide a strong platform for continued success,” said Grant Williams with the couple keen to attract owners beyond just Bob Peters.

Sherry well on the mend with a double

HAVING recovered from a broken forearm sustained in May from a race fall at Tooradin, Tom Sherry made the best of his 2kg apprentice’s claim to land a double at Rosehill on Saturday.

Winning the sixth on Lord Ardmore, the victory was Sherry’s first for the Chris Waller stable. “He was well-placed and probably had the best form-line coming into the race,” said Sherry. “He appreciated a little bit of weight off his back under those (heavy) conditions.

“He had an easy time early and then he got pressured. I think those first couple of easy sectionals helped him get through the last half. He ran through the line strong.”

Two races later Sherry was back in the winner’s circle for his boss, Mark Newnham, riding the aptly named mare Expat.

Confidence

Newnham’s pre-race confidence proved correct. “From that gate, she’s an on-pace mare so she’ll go forward and Tom does plenty of homework,” said Newnham. “He always turns up very prepared and he’ll know his opposition and his horse so I don’t have to discuss much of that race with him.”

Sinawann adds an Australian Group 3

KINGMAN registered his first stakes winner in Australia with the victory of Sinawann in the Group 3 Kevin Heffernan Stakes over 1,400 metres at Caulfield on Saturday.

The 2020 Amethyst Stakes, winner when trained by Michael Halford, was having his second start for the Anthony and Sam Freedman stable who credited his turnaround from a sixth at Flemington during the Melbourne Cup Carnival with the application of a tongue tie.

“I haven’t seen an import improve so much from their first run here to their second as he did; even his trackwork, it (tongue-tie) really switched him on,” said Sam Freedman.

Expensive

“He’s an expensive import and we maintained to the ownership group that this preparation had largely been to find out about him, because we don’t really know what his best trip is going to be.

He’s stretched out a bit overseas and got form around Armory and State Of Rest and world-class form but we wanted to treat him as a blank canvas.”

Sinawann, ridden by Craig Williams, won by nearly a length from another Irish-bred, and still owned by Michael O’Callaghan Racing, the Footstepsinthesand gelding I Am Superman.

Third was the Magnus gelding Streets Of Avalon.