By Daithí Harvey
The G1 Schweppes Sydney Cup was dominated by ex-European horses with Gallante (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) benefitting from an excellent Kerrin McEvoy front running ride to beat off the favourite Libran (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) and another Chris Waller trainee Grand Marshal (GB) (Dansili {GB}) to claim the spoils for trainer Robert Hickmott. Gallante was already proven at the highest level having won the G1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris in 2014 when trained by Andre Fabre for the Coolmore partners. Kerrin McEvoy was positive on the 5-year-old bouncing out and dictating matters from the front in this marathon 3200m event. McEvoy always looked comfortable on the leader and it was only at the 200m mark that he asked the gelding for maximum effort and he kicked clear, holding off Libran to win by a length and a quarter in a time of 3.24.53, with Grand Marshal running on at the same pace in third. “It's a great thrill to win this for Lloyd and Nick [Williams], Rob Hickmott and their whole team,” said McEvoy after the race. “Lloyd just gave me a heap of confidence. He said the horse is flying, drops a lot in weight, handles the ground which looking at his European form says that as well. He said he had come on a lot from his last run and Rob, Lloyd, Nick and the team showed what they can do,” added McEvoy.
Saturday, Randwick, Australia
SYDNEY CUP-G1, A$2,139,500, ATC, 4-9, 3yo/up, Open Handicap, 3200mT, 3:24.53, Soft.
1–GALLANTE (IRE), 51.5, g, 5, by Montjeu (IRE)
1st Dam: Crazy Volume (IRE), by Machiavellian (USA)
2nd Dam: Desert Ease (IRE), by Green Desert (USA)
3rd Dam: Easy to Copy (USA), by Affirmed (USA)
O-N C Williams, Mr & Mrs L J Williams; B-Lynch Bages Ltd &
Camas Park Stud, IRE; T-Robert Hickmott; J-K Mc Evoy;
A$1,339,500. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Fr, 14-4-0-3,
A$1,934,830. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”irt-shell”]2–Libran (IRE), 53.0, g, 5, Lawman (FR)–True Crystal (IRE), by
Sadler's Wells (USA). (35,000gns yrl '12 TATOCT) O-Highclere
Thoroughbred Racing Australia Ltd (Mgr: Hon H M Herbert);
B-Round Hill Stud, IRE; T-C J Waller; J-B Avdulla; A$375,000.[bullet ad=”irt-shell”]3–Grand Marshal (GB), 55.0, g, 6, Dansili (GB)–Margarula (IRE),
by Doyoun (IRE) . O-C C Lai; B-Carwell Equities Ltd, GUE; T-C J
Waller; J-J B Mc Donald; A$175,000.[bullet ad=”flanagan-purchasedprivately”][bullet ad=”irt-shell”]Margins: 1.3 len, 1.5 len, 5.0 len. Odds: 9.00, 3.00, 4.50.
Also Ran: Who Shot Thebarman (NZ), Almoonqith (USA), Like a Carousel, Destiny's Kiss, Cafe Society (FR), Dee I Cee (NZ), Auvray (FR), Bayanova (NZ) .
Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.
Gallante obviously took a while to settle into his new regime since arriving from France. He cut little dash in six Australian starts subsequent to Saturday, failing to reach a top five position until his last effort at Rosehill Mar. 19 in the G3 Manion Cup when he finished an encouraging third to Libran. Those previous below par efforts did however see Gallante get into the race off an attractive weight and this coupled with a gelding operation saw him recapture his best form much to the delight of co-owner Nick Williams who commented, “Six months ago if we could've booked a seat to send him back we would've. Less than six months ago he got beaten at Pakenham. He's had the ultimate gear change [gelded] since then, which has made all the difference because he had a shocking attitude, had a few feet problems but really today is about all the team, they've done a marvellous job in turning this horse around. We knew he was a great stayer, he just needs some give in the ground.”
For trainer Chris Waller it wasn't to be despite fielding a three strong team high on quality. Libran lost little in defeat on his first attempt in Group 1 company and has come along way in the last year. His jockey Brenton Avdulla was obviously disappointed to lose and said, “I'm a little bit heartbroken, we've won all the prelims, the semis and all that and we got here today and just couldn't get it done in the Grand Final. Two weeks in a row I've been beaten by one better.” The winner Gallante once again showcases what a brilliant source of classy stamina the late Montjeu (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) is, a trait he is also handing down to his southern hemisphere based son Tavistock (NZ). Gallante was bred in partnership by Lynch Bages Ltd & Camas Park Stud. It could be an exciting month ahead for the Hyde family of Camas Park as Tim Hyde Jnr is also the breeder of leading GI Kentucky Derby contender Nyquist (Uncle Mo) through his Kentucky based Summerhill Farm.
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