Craig Kerry
Lindsay Park and Nash Rawiller stole the show on Five Diamonds day at Rosehill as Evaporate claimed the $2 million feature to set up a potential West Australian campaign and Act Up took out the $1 million Golden Gift at Rosehill to book his place in the Golden Slipper.
Rawiller claimed the rich double with contrasting rides, putting Evaporate from a start in gate four to sit on the fence behind the leaders in the 1800m Five Diamonds before driving the $10 chance to a half-length victory over Zambardo. Hayes-trained Plymouth was third.
The champion rider earlier took Act Up through the field from second last on the bend, after a start in gate 11, before lifting him the $8 chance to a half-length victory over Silent Intent.
Rawiller and the training team of Will, Ben and JD Hayes have now combined for nine wins and five placings from just 22 runners together.
“He’s a high talent, he’s very good and we got exactly the ride that we needed from him there, so that was just super,” Will Hayes said after the Five Diamonds.
Evaporate was ninth and 10th in group 1s before finishing seventh in the Five Diamonds Prelude. He could not race on to WA, where he is nominated for the Railway and Northerly Stakes.
“We thought he had his excuses in the group 1s,” Hayes said.
“The Sir Rupert Clarke from the wide barrier, and in the Toorak getting slightly held up, so today we had our confidence in the horse and he did well, thriving between runs.
“It didn’t go well in the prelude with that tricky run in transit and then he got produced again here today and we got the right barrier and the right ride.”
Colt Act Up earlier belied his name under a gun ride from Rawiller to win the Golden Gift.
Act Up, one and a half lengths fourth in the 1000m Debutant Stakes at Caulfield, settled well and was second last approaching the bend after jumping from gate 11 in the $1 million race. Rawiller then navigated a path through the field on the $240,000 Castelvecchio colt and lifted him past Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained Silent Intent in the final strides for a half-length victory. Hawkes Racing’s Torshavn was third on debut.
The $580,000 and $190,000 prizemoney effectively puts the Victorian-trained quinella into the $5 million Golden Slipper in March.
The Hayes brothers earlier won the $200,000 Inglis Banner at Flemington with Debutant Stakes victory Soldi.
“We were really keen to see him over 1100m, and we needed every metreage today,” Will said.
“It was a terrific ride by Nash to go back and through. We were beaten for early speed and we were just hoping for an over correction, which is what we got. Full credit to the horse, he handled the occasion. Our two-year-olds are on fire.”
Rawiller then made life hard for Tommy Berry and Chris Waller-trained favourite Lazzura in the $500,000 group 2 Hot Danish Stakes (1400m) aboard Chris and Corey Munce-prepared Gerringong.
The pair battled down the straight as $1.35 favourite Lazzura raced outside leader Gerringong ($6.50) before edging past in the final 100m for a half neck victory. Stablemate Surf’s Up was third.
Waller representative Darren Beadman believed Lazzura would likely be spelled after back-to-back “gut-busting” victories in the $2 million Invitation and on Saturday.
More Midway goals ahead for Ible
Kembla Grange trainer Joe Ible was looking to the Midway Handicap at home on The Gong program in two weeks with Common Goal after the five-year-old led and kicked strongly for a first win in the Saturday races.
Apprentice Coriah Keatings, using her three-kilogram claim, controlled the 1300m Midway for a one and a quarter-length victory from Hellova Nature, after a fourth first-up in the grade last start.
The win continued an enjoyable spring for Ible, who trains a team of 20. His stable star won two Midways and was second in the $750,000 Sydney Gold Cup before going for a spell.
“There’s a 1400m Midway on Gong day at home, so that was the progression, 1200, 1300, 1400 and have a runner at Kembla on Gong day,” Ible said of Common Goal’s next target.
He said Cabbucio, which was second in the Midway on Tuesday at Randwick, would race in the 1600m Midway at Newcastle next Saturday and potentially rise to the 2000m race two weeks later at Rosehill.
Wyong trainer Nacim Dilmi was also looking to the Gong program with Probability Theory after the four-year-old mare won the 1400m benchmark 78 by three-quarters of a length at Rosehill, taking her record to five wins in nine starts. The Domeland head trainer said the benchmark 88 1600m race at Kembla was a likely next target.
Brave effort puts championships in frame
Scone trainer Luke Pepper will weigh up a Country Championships campaign for Brave Xena after apprentice Mollie Fitzgerald bounced back from a fall two days earlier to take the four-year-old mare to victory in the 1200m class 3 Highway Handicap.
Fitzgerald fell pre-race at Gosford on Thursday and was stood down for the day, but was cleared of any fractures. In her first ride back, Fitzgerald made the most of a draw in three to take Brave Xena to a half-length win.
Fitzgerald said she had “just general soreness in my back, shoulder and ribs” and did everything she could to be right for Saturday.
Pepper said he had hoped to get Brave Xena into last month’s $2 million Kosciuszko, but after the consolation win on Saturday, he would discuss the possibility of stretching her out to 1400m with breeder-owner Glenn Burrows for the Country Championships after a short break.
Burrows, who owns Willow Park Stud in Scone, kept the Saxon Warrior-Warrior Woman filly after believing she was too small for the sales.
Fitzgerald went to the lead in the Sydney apprentices’ title on six, one ahead of Braith Nock and defending champion Siena Grima, who had also had a win on Saturday when She Moves Too scored a three-length victory in the 1800m benchmark 78 for boss Chris Waller. Grima was later fined $500 for not riding Waller-trained Medatsu fully to the line in the third when nosed out for fourth place.
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained four-year-old Savvy Spy stamped himself a stayer of the future with an easy win in the 2400m benchmark 78 handicap, before wanting to go further post-race.
The $80,000 son of Savabeel made it three wins in a row, jumping from a 2000m benchmark 64 at Hawkesbury to a Warwick Farm midweek benchmark 78 over 2400m before Saturday’s length and a quarter win under Tim Clark.
Savvy Spy then dislodged Clark on the way back to the winners’ stall and took off down the home straight in the opposite direction before the clerks of the course reeled him in. Rider and horse were unharmed.
Meanwhile, Kiwi apprentice Amber Riddell came away with a two-meeting suspension for careless riding after a frightening and chaotic trip on Bjorn Baker-trained Swordplay in race nine.
In her first Saturday Sydney ride, the champion New Zealand apprentice was penalised for allowing Swordplay to shift out in the straight and check Regimental Colours approaching the 200m mark.
Riddell was lucky to stay on the four-year-old mare when it raced fiercely forward to lead and shifted in abruptly from a wide gate to hit the rail.
When questioned about the early troubles, Riddell said she hit the inside rail aboard Swordplay in trackwork this week and almost went through it.
Stewards banned Swordplay, which finished last, from racing again until she trialled to their satisfaction.
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