James McDonald compared Orchestral to the champion Anamoe after New Zealand’s latest female superstar was crowned the trans-Tasman queen of racing on taking the Vinery Stud Stakes (G1) in her Australian debut March 30.
She was given a major scare by another bold move from Nash Rawiller on board Tutta La Vita, but Orchestral still stretched her winning streak to the past five of her nine starts, after dropping in distance following her first top-tier success in the New Zealand Derby (G1) March 2.
The Roger James and Robert Wellwood-trained filly was made to show all of her star quality as Sydney’s most canny horseback tactician, the 49-year-old Rawiller, almost stole the show in Rosehill’s 3-year-old fillies’ feature.
While the renowned broodmare maker was billed as a battle between the Kiwi AUS$1.60 favorite and Godolphin’s VRC Oaks (G1) winner and second-elect Zardozi, rival trainer Chris Waller had warned on Friday to expect improvement from Tutta La Vita in her third run of the preparation.
Thanks to Rawiller—and after firming from AUS$13 to $11—the twice group 1-placed filly very nearly broke through for what would have been a first top-tier success for Arrowfield’s The Autumn Sun.
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Not happy with the slow pace set by Rachel King nursing Kimochi through the filly’s first race over further than 1,600 meters, Rawiller, settling third while Orchestral sat fourth with Zardozi behind her, took off three-wide around the front pair to grab the lead at the 700 meters.
He shot Tutta La Vita to a three-length break on straightening, and as McDonald and Tom Marquand roused Orchestral and Zardozi behind him, Rawiller still held a two-length advantage at the 200 meters.
But while slightly slow to pick up initially, after a switch of the whip from McDonald’s right to his left hand, Orchestral gritted her teeth to charge past Tutta La Vita in the last 50 meters and score by 0.7 lengths. Zardozi took third a further 0.7 lengths away.
Wellwood reflected on an “amazing” feeling as he and James celebrated back-to-back wins in the Vinery, after that of Prowess last year.
“My heart-rate is still coming down. It was a bit of a fright there,” Wellwood said of the Vinery. “She (Tutta La Vita) took off and got a real break on us. Orchestral had to fight really hard to win but class prevailed.
“It’s amazing, we’ve got to thank the team back home. Everyone puts in so much work. We’re a small stable from New Zealand and these results are incredible.”
Cascadian Wins Australian Cup Again
Godolphin’s remarkable gelding Cascadian crashed the match-race party, took his fourth group 1 and sent his earnings into eight figures by claiming his second straight Australian Cup (G1) at Flemington.
In the same race that brought one of the great match-race spoilers of all time—Dandy Andy’s 125-1 win over Vo Rogue and Bonecrusher in 1988—Cascadian produced something similar, if not at the same odds, to take the event’s memorable 162nd edition.
Cascadian wins the Australian Cup at Flemington Racecourse
The crowd had come to see Mr Brightside versus Pride Of Jenni, as the pair squared up in a third time in seven weeks, after he’d collared her in the Orr Stakes (G1) and she’d led him home in the All-Star Mile.
Attempting a first win beyond 1,600 meters, Pride Of Jenni and Declan Bates sought to repeat their Caulfield heroics with a fierce pace and a sizeable gap up front.
And with Mr Brightside shaming himself with a fading and distant fifth, she would’ve gotten away with it—to borrow a line—were it not for a pesky 9-year-old.
Cascadian had been a strong-finishing third behind the other two in the All-Star Mile, and that hadn’t escaped the notice of the punters who backed him from AUS$11 to AUS$9.50 for the $3 million contest.
Jumping from gate seven of nine, Bates waited till the 1,400 meters to take the front on Pride Of Jenni, then the pair set their familiar frenetic speed, with five straight furlongs in the 11-second range to the 400 meters, during which she was five lengths clear throughout.
Craig Williams, chastised for being too far back on Mr Brightside in the All-Star Mile, this time had the gelding second and third on the fence. His was the daunting task of leading the field to Ciaron Maher’s flying mare in the straight and—to the horror of his legion of backers—the favorite performed it woefully. Last year’s millimeter-close runner-up in the Cox Plate (G1), having his first attempt to close out a 2,000-meter trip up the searching Flemington straight, threw in the towel by the 350 meters and was beaten 4.8 lengths.
Chris Waller’s mare Atishu swept past him and set upon Pride Of Jenni’s still gaping five-length lead. It was just three lengths at the 200 meters, but Atishu’s challenge then subsided, and it was the white-faced chestnut Cascadian—unleashing a weaving, inside run from last on the turn—who glided past.
He met brave Pride Of Jenni at the 25-meter mark, and ridden out by Ben Melham had just too much power for the mare at the end, taking the great race by 0.3 lengths.
Thanks to Pride Of Jenni, the time on a good 3 track came breathtakingly close to the magical two-minute barrier, and at 2:00.05 was the fastest in this race since the legendary Makybe Diva set essentially a world turf record of 1:58.73 in 2005, thanks to another tearaway-leading mare that year in Niagara Falls.
In bettering his time on a good 4 last year by 1.38 seconds, when he won as an AUS$4 favorite, Cascadian’s AUS$1.8 million check took his earnings to AUS$10.46 million, which has him second in Godolphin Australia’s Hall of Fame behind Anamoe’s AUS$11.12 million
“He carries on like a young horse and he’s still got so much racing in him,” said Godolphin’s Melbourne foreman Nacim Dilmi. “He is easy to do anything with. He has been really fresh the last few days and we had to keep him as calm as possible.
“When we saddled him up and did the girth, he grabbed hold of the strapper’s arm and wouldn’t let go. We knew he was on-song today.
“We knew tactics were going to be tricky obviously with Pride Of Jenni over the 2,000 meters, and Declan rode a great race.
“The tempo suited (Cascadian) perfectly. When they came up to the top of the straight and he was travelling, we knew he was going to give it a good shake. Once he peeled out and Ben Melham timed it perfectly, it was great.
“Back-to-back, it is unreal.”
Celebrating his 21st group 1 win and second straight Australian Cup, Melham said he’d been extremely confident this was no two-horse affair.
“If you could ever declare a horse on the way to the barrier, this is him,” he said. “He couldn’t have been in better order, which gave me the confidence to ride him like I wanted to.
“He loves pinching runs and sneaking around the place. He’s just too good for them. To see horses his age still beating the best horses in the land at this trip is phenomenal.”
Atishu held on for third, two lengths behind the winner, ahead of another seemingly ageless warrior, the 8-year-old Vow And Declare.
Longshot Kalapour Takes Tancred Stakes
The Kris Lees-trained Kalapour became the fourth elite-level scorer for War Command when running out an upset winner of the Tancred Stakes (G1) at Rosehill. Having been a dual group 3 winner before this weekend’s contest, the 7-year-old gelding defied odds of AUS$31 and battled well to hold off the persistent challenge of More Felons to score by 0.2 lengths, with a further 1.4 lengths back to Ashrun in third.
Kalapour, along the rail, wins the Tancred Stakes at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse
“At 8.30am on Wednesday, I nearly was going to run him in the Neville Sellwood Stakes,” Lees revealed. “I came here hoping he’d earn a nice cheque for connections, probably not that confident. But I’m really happy. He’s in the Sydney Cup and he won’t get a penalty out of today so it’s something to consider. But either way, it’s a big thrill today.”
The winner of one of four starts in Ireland, Kalapour was bred by Aga Khan Studs and is a half brother to stakes winner Kalaxana , being out of the Daylami mare Kaladena, who herself is a three-quarter sister to Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T) and Champion Stakes (G1) winner Kalanisi. Former Coolmore shuttler War Command now stands in France at Haras de Gelos for a private fee.
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