Anthony Cummings is never frightened to set the bar high for a promising horse and when Castelvecchio three year-old El Castello broke his maiden at Warwick Farm at the start of September his trainer was talking G1 Spring Champion Stakes and that goal is well and truly on track.
El Castello won his next start in a Benchmark 72 handicap at Randwick over 1600m and then stepped up to the $500,000 Group III ATC Gloaming Stakes over 1800m on Saturday at Rosehill and took another giant step forward.
Ridden by Josh Parr, El Castello hit the front with 100m to run and was strong right through the line kicking clear to win by two lengths over the favourite Swiftfalcon taking his overall record to three wins and two placings from six starts with prizemoney topping $460,000.
“Today is the first time he’s shown himself properly and professionally and I think her will be better at 2000m and better when we go to Melbourne,” said Anthony Cummings, who won the 2012 Victoria Derby with El Castello’s close relation Fiveandahalfstar.
El Castello’s sire Castelvecchio won the Group I ATC Champagne Stakes at two and was then second in both the ATC Spring Champion Stakes and Cox Plate before returning in the autumn to win the Group I ATC Rosehill Guineas, so you can see why Anthony Cummings has set him on this path.
A $220,000 Magic Millions purchase from the Cambridge Stud draft, El Castello was also bred by Brendan and Jo Lindsay and is the first winner from Word Games, a metro winning half-sister by Fastnet Rock to dual Group I winner Fiveandahalfstar, who was also bred and trained by Anthony Cummings to win the Victoria Derby and The BMW.
It’s a family Cummings knows well and El Castello looks a great chance to write his own chapter of success.
Word Games has a yearling filly by the Cambridge Stud based Almanzor (FR) and has foaled this spring producing another filly by the same sire.
El Castello is the first stakes-winner for Castelvecchio , who stands alongside his sire Dundeel at Arrowfield Stud at a fee of $22,000.
