THE Danny O’Brien-trained Vow And Declare won his first race since the 2019 Melbourne Cup when saluting in Saturday’s Group 2 Zipping Classic over 2,400 metres at Caulfield.

Ridden by Johnny Allen, the Declaration Of War seven-year-old took the race on through the final bend travelling three wide to take the lead and power on through to the line to post a two-length winning margin. Second was the British-bred Iffraaj gelding Luncies with the Pierro gelding Persan third.

“He gave me a lovely ride, he was always travelling well, got rolling down the side just to give him a bit of room and he kept responding for me in the straight,” said Allen.

Terrific result

It was Vow And Declare’s first start since running 10th in this year’s Melbourne Cup, lifting his record to five wins from 29 starts for A$6.64 million in earnings, a terrific result for his breeder who retained Vow And Declare when he was passed in on a reserve of $60,000 at the 20017 Inglis Classic Yearling sale.

“He couldn’t have ridden it any better,” added Danny O’Brien of Allen’s ride. “Persan set a good gallop, which is what we wanted, and he was always in control of the position he wanted to be in.

“Early in the straight, he got going and stayed on, and it was pretty painless. He’s such a special horse, he’s been in the stable since he was a yearling, we’ve had him for six years, he’s given us the greatest thrill winning the Melbourne Cup and he’s a very popular horse with the public too.”

Paulele powers to Perth victory

Crown Perth-Winterbottom Stakes (Group 1)

THE James Cummings-trained Paulele produced a stunning finish to win the A$1.5 million Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes at Perth’s Ascot racecourse last Saturday.

Marooned at the tail of the field in the 1,200-metre sprint following a poor draw, Cummings and jockey Ben Melham hatched a bold plan to ride the chesnut Dawn Approach colt cold and save him for one run.

“I was confident he would run really well today, and it was good to be proven right,” said Melham. “He’s a horse that’s always had Group 1 ability, I believe, but his first couple of runs looked just fair on paper for his standards.

“He drew awkward, James (Cummings) and I spoke and we were happy to ride him quiet and there was nice speed and he got into a lovely rhythm. When he went, he let go pretty quick and I knew I’d be strong right to the line and he was able to get over the top of them.”

Powering down the outside as the widest runner Paulele overtook all 15 rivals, catching the locally-trained Written Tycoon mare Kissonallforcheeks in the final stride to win by a nose with the Testa Rossa mare This’ll Testya in third.

The run was Paulele’s first since running a two-and-a-half-length 11th to Roch ‘N’ Horse in the Group 1 Champions Sprint on the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

VETERAN New Zealand trainer John Sargent claimed Australia’s longest flat race on Sunday at Warrnambool, winning the 4,652-metre Jericho Cup worth A$288,0000 with the four-year-old Pierro gelding Bastida.

Open only to Australian and New Zealand-bred horses with a minimum weight of 65kgs, the Jericho Cup was first run in 2018 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Bill The Bastard winning the original Jericho Cup, a three-mile race in the desert sands of Palestine.

It was run in 1918 near Jericho and was part of a wider ploy to re-organise some 34,000 Australian and New Zealand light horsemen prior to the Battle of Megiddo in World War I.

Two lengths

Bastida, ridden by jumps jockey Daryl Horner, won by two lengths from a pair of fellow New Zealand-breds, the Jakkalberry gelding Botti and the Epaulette gelding Epizeel.

“I’m still trying to get my breath back, I couldn’t even pull him up after that distance,” said Horner.

“The race went to plan, we were probably a little further back than we wanted to be, but I just bit my lip and waited, and he was too good in the end, John Sargent is an absolute freak.”

Feature race

Bought by Sargent for $41,000 from gavelhouse.com, Bastida made it a feature race staying training double for Sargent across the weekend, winning the Listed Sandown Cup over 3,200 metres the previous day at Caulfield with the Rip Van Winkle mare Gin Martini.

Asked what his secret with the stayers was, Sargent credited his northern hemisphere experiences.

“I did five years in Newmarket and learned a lot about staying training,” reflected Sargent.

“It showed me how much more long, slow work you can give them. That type of long slow work, along with a lot of walking and swimming, is especially good for getting these horses out to two miles and even 4,652 metres.

“The other main reason is what I buy at the sales. I can’t afford the two-year-olds and sprinters, hence I go to New Zealand and I buy the staying fillies in particular, along with some colts.”