When Epsom Derby hero Serpentine (IRE) was shown the door at Ballydoyle after a spectacularly unsuccessful 4-year-old season, his career looked all but over.
Packed off to the colonies, his early form in his adopted homeland raised little hope, but his transfer to the Waterhouse-Bott stable, the son of Galileo (IRE), has turned back the clock.
For the first time since winning the Epsom Derby a week after breaking his maiden at the Curragh, Serpentine has posted back-to-back wins.
After winning the Listed Randwick City Stakes on March 9, the 7-year-old gelding climbed off the canvas to win Saturday's Group III James Squire Neville Sellwood Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill Gardens.
Ridden by Tim Clark, Serpentine set a solid pace but looked cooked when defending champion Zeyrek (Sea The Stars), cruised up and went past.
Serpentine began to rally to regain the lead inside the 100m to defeat Zeyrek by a half-length, with Renaissance Woman (Reliable Man) one and three-quarter lengths back in third.
Carrying the colours of Lloyd Williams, Serpentine (IRE) advances his record to five wins, three seconds, and one third from 21 starts with earnings of $1,174,454.
"He runs the same style of race, and that's the pattern we know from him," Adrian Bott said.
We've got to try to ride him accordingly. You'll see Tim (Clark) went for him a long way from home. There's never an immediate response, it's a long, sustained run.
"They outsprinted him from the 800 to the 400, but I was always confident that he wasn't done with it yet; he was going to be working back into it. Once he got up level at the furlong there, I thought it's going to be awfully hard for them to sustain that run that he can."
"This was the call from (part-owners) Nick and Lloyd Williams to be here today, and they've certainly pulled the right rein in that regard. He might be getting a bit more difficult to place from here whether we throw him a little bit in the deep end now. I just had a quick chat with Nick then, and we threw up a few ideas, but we'll leave it to them, and we'll just try to get the horse fit and get it on the right day.
Serpentine (IRE) is one of five stakes-winners for Danehill Dancer's Epsom Oaks runner-up Remember When, a three-quarter sister to the champion Dylan Thomas (Danehill).
All five, Wedding Vow, Beacon Rock, Bound, Bye Bye Baby, and Serpentine, are among the 396 stakes-winners for the legendry Galileo (IRL).
