Australian Guineas (Group 1)

THE Victorian Derby winner Hitotsu put himself in the frame for the All Star Mile on March 19th, his impressive first-up win in the Group 1 Australian Guineas at Flemington on Saturday earning the Maurice colt a wildcard entry into the A$5 million event.

Ridden by Johnny Allen and travelling sweetly mid-race, Hitotsu hugged the rail, slipping through on the inside to fight it out with the Zoustar colt Lightsaber and the Bon Hoffa filly Bon’s A Pearla, the margins a half-length and length in that order.

Progressive

“I thought he laboured a little bit on the (soft) ground, I reckon he is better definitely on top of the ground but his toughness got him there and he was always going to outstay them at the finish. It was a great effort by the horse and all of the team,” said Allen. “He is definitely progressive. He can improve and be a really good horse hopefully.”

The win was all the sweeter for co-trainer (with Ciaron Maher) English-born David Eustace, whose parents were out from Britain. “It’s great to have Mum and Dad here. Gutted that the boss isn’t here, he’s up in Sydney and we don’t get to share many big wins. I’m really proud of the whole team. It was an awesome ride and he’s just a really good horse.”

Tracker

Eustace went on to note the stables’ incorporation of sports science in their training. “I do believe it gives us an advantage,” said Eustace of the Equimetre technology the stable uses. “Every horse that does any fast work or slow work, trials, etc., all has what we call a tracker on, giving us data.

“The data allows us to target these races, not waste runs on horses that might not need them or want them. We’ve got four full-time staff members to give us the data. Ciaron is driving it, he’s the one who really wanted to include high performance data into our training.”

Mostyn Copper Randwick Guineas (Group 1)

JUST 20 minutes and 870 kilometres separated the absurdity of Australian racing holding a pair of A$1 million Group 1 Guineas races over 1,600 metres on Saturday.

That being said, none can deny that Converge was not a worthy winner of the Randwick Guineas. June’s Group 1 J J Atkins winner had one of the toughest tasks in his age group, taking on Godolphin’s star colt Anamoe.

Button

Sweeping around the bend, Tim Clark aboard the Frankel gelding had a quick look to see where Anamoe was just before hitting the ‘go button’. Strong right to the line in the heavy going, Converge held Anamoe to a half-length, the pair holding a clear margin to the Fastnet Rock colt Hilal.

Trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Converge’s win marked the 30th anniversary of Waterhouse’s first starter and winner. “It’s remarkable how this has happened 30 years to the day since Gifted Poet won at Hawkesbury,” said Waterhouse.

“I remember that race like it was yesterday. But today was the day to win the Randwick Guineas. It’s fabulous to win a Group 1 on this date.”

This was Waterhouse’s 148th Group 1, and her 14th in partnership with Adrian Bott. The stable later ruled out an Australian Derby start, preferring instead to focus on the Doncaster Mile. “After his win in the Randwick Guineas, we feel he is so brilliant and effective over the Randwick 1,600 metres the Doncaster was the ideal race for him, particularly as he has only 49.5kg,” said Bott who indicated Converge will now contest either the Rosehill Guineas (2,000 metres) or George Ryder (1500 metres) at Rosehill on March 19th.

SERPENTINE, the 2020 Derby winner, will resume his racing career at Macedon Lodge, having arrived in Australia to join Lloyd William’s team. “We’re very excited,” said Nick Williams. “He won the Derby, and it would be fair to say last season he lost his way a little bit. We think a change in environment, a change of hemispheres, hopefully it will bring him back to his best, and if it does, we’ll have a bit of fun with him.”

Gelded

By Galileo and now gelded, Serpentine was unplaced in five Group 1 starts after his Derby win. “He’s a horse that loves firm ground and I think, at a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half, I think he could be very competitive,” added WIlliams.

“A Derby winner, your first preference would be to leave him a colt, but it will certainly improve him as a racehorse, being a gelding, so we did that.”