Last year’s Melbourne Cup hero Gold Trip (FR) has teased a few times that he is back to his best, but few would have predicted his explosive performance in Saturday’s Group 1 TAB Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington.
Loitering at the back of the field under Mark Zahra the 6-yr-old son of Outstrip displayed a blistering turn of foot, which propelled him to a one and three-quarter lengths win over the British raider West Wind Blows (IRE) (Teofilo), with a long neck back to third placed Soulcombe (GB) Frankel).
The Hong Kong chanp Romantic Warrior clocked in fourth and both trainer and jockey said it will top him off nicely for the Cox Plate.
The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained entire advances his record to three wins, five seconds and four thirds from 22 starts with earnings of $6,792,739.
“Unbelievable. I’m tingling. I can’t believe he won like that. What a win,” Zahra enthused.
“He’s such a race day horse. He goes down the straight and he looks at the crowd. He’s an absolute ripper.
“I had him switched off and I’ve always said that he’s a horse that I don’t like to cuddle him. When I go I like to give it to him. He is a stallion, and he does think about it but when I give it to him, it is like, I hit the front at the 200 (metre mark) and he’s going to absolutely bolt in.
“In the mounting yard, he looked a million dollars. Obviously, I was spewing about the gate (barrier 16), but I rode him quiet, and I know if you leave him alone and don’t annoy him early, he’ll give you his best late.
“When you go for him, you have to go for him. You can’t click up, he’ll think about it, so I gave it to him, and the next minute I’m like, ‘I’m hitting the front here in a group one with 250 metres to go’, and we expected him to run well but that was huge.
“He’s such a lazy horse in the run. Ever since I’ve ridden him I’ve just let him drop out and find his feet, which he really appreciates.
“When I asked him to pick up, a couple of times at the 1000 and the 800 he came up underneath me. I just needed a bit of room in the straight and when it presented at the top of the straight, the rest is history.”
“Ciaron, Dave and the farrier have got him that good I reckon that this prep it won’t matter what the track is.
“He’s got to go to the Cox Plate, surely. They were a few of his major rivals there and the way he won, why wouldn’t you go there?
Trained in France by Fabrice Chappet, Gold Trip (FR) won the Group II Prix Greffulhe (2200m) at Lyon Parilly in 2020. He was third in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris (2400m) at Longchamp, behind subsequent Hong Kong International Vase (2400m) winner Mogul and Arc runner-up In Swoop. His three-year-old season ended when fourth, beaten two and a half lengths behind Sottsass in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (2400m) on a heavy track at Longchamp.
Bred by M. Michel Monfort, Gold Trip (FR) made just three starts at four in 2021, placing in the Group 1 Prix Ganay (2100m) at Longchamp on May 2 and Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (2400m) on July 4 before heading to Australia.
A half-brother to stakes-placed Got Wind (Olympic Glory), Gold Trip (FR) is the best of three winners from four to race for the Dubai Destination mare Sarvana, a half-sister to the Group III Prix de Lieurey winner and Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet runner-up Sarkiyla (Oasis Dream).
After beginning his career at Darley’s Dalham Hall, Outstrip (GB) now stands in Brazil.
