NEASHAM'S BOIS D'ARGENT WINS THE DOOMBEN CUP UNDER AN INCH PERFECT RIDE FROM BLAKE SHINN
By Graham Potter | Tuesday, May 28, 2024
The Annabel Neasham trained Bois D’Argent scored a compelling victory in the $1 million, Group 1 Doomben Cup when he powered through the 2000m trip, leading from start to finish and still finding enough to ward off some serious late challenges to salute by a diminishing, oh so narrow margin.
The seven-year-old grey, who finished fourth in the Caulfield Cup in October, had been building nicely enough leading into the race posting a Group 3 fourth place in the JRA Plate at Randwick two runs back, a result which was followed by third place finish in the Gold Coast Cup in his final run before the Doomben Cup.
Both of those runs were on heavy going and Bois D’Argent was back on soft going for the Doomben Cup, a subtle but important change in the racing surface conditions for the grey.
He still has not won on heavy going but has now won five out of nine starts on soft going ... and has been placed on the other four occasions. Read more ...
NEASHAM'S BOIS D'ARGENT WINS THE DOOMBEN CUP UNDER AN INCH PERFECT RIDE FROM BLAKE SHINN
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While punters on the ‘good thing’ I Wish I Win would have winced watching the final strides of the Doomben 10 000 contest as Bella Nipotina arrived with a late flourish to peg back the big race favourite on the line, few could deny that the ultra-consistent, resilient, Ciaron Maher trained Bella Nipotina and jockey Craig Williams deserved their success.
In racing parlance, I Wish I Win had every chance to secure another Group 1 win and Bella Nipotina had every excuse to lose.
While I Wish I Win landed in a perfect position on the rail at the break, Bella Nipotina was slow away. Then, when it mattered most in the home straight, I Wish I Win, who had saved ground, hit the front at the 200m mark ... looking good ... while Bella Nipotina had been forced to track wide to gain clear galloping room leaving her with still four lengths to make up at that stage.
Bella Nipotina cut that deficit to two lengths with 100m left to run but, with I Wish I Win not stopping and running a great race in his own right, it needed an almighty effort from the Ciaron Maher trained mare if she was to come home over the top of I Wish I Win ... and that is exactly what she produced in a Doomben 10 000 thriller to score a last stride victory.
Craig Willaims, as ever, was professionalism and humility personified when talking about the win. Read more ...
BELLA NIPOTINA PREVAILS IN A LAST STRIDE THRILLER
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Antino’s flashing, come from behind win in the Group 2 Victory Stakes at Eagle Farm on Saturday was just the tonic trainer Tony Gollan needed as he lines the very smart son of Redwood up for a tilt at the $3 million Stradbroke ... a race in which, you could say, the five-year-old gelding has unfinished business.
Antino didn’t make the final Stradbroke field last year, in spite of being a winner of seven of his eight career starts going into Stradbroke day, but he was still in action at the Stradbroke meeting, giving an indication of what might have been when he won the Listed Wayne Wilson by a three-length margin in one of the supporting feature races on the Stradbroke card.
That was then. This is now ... and Gollan could not be happier. This year’s Stradbroke place is secure and Antino’s effort on Saturday underlined a fact that Gollan has known for a very long time.
Antino is a very good racehorse. Read more ...
ANTINO RACES INTO SERIOUS STRADBROKE CONTENTION
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