The lone stakes race on Rosehill’s ten-race card on Saturday saw Joe Pride’s race outsider Estadio Mestalla (Galileo Gold) take out the $200,000 Listed ATC Winter Stakes (1400m) in a boilover.
Stakes placed in the Listed Civic Stakes this time last year, the rising 7yo gelding had disappointed at his most recent two starts since resuming from a spell with Pride working his magic, adding blinkers as well as a change in tactics which resulted in success, his first at stakes level.
Jumping away from barrier ten in the 13-horse field, jockey Dylan Gibbons went forward to eventually find the lead with race favourite Whinchat (Russian Revolution) over racing and pulling himself into second position.
Not known for his front-running style, many would’ve assumed Estadio Mestalla would just put up the white flag and surrender in the run home, but in fact it was Whinchat who was weakening quickly as the leader kept going.
With Bjorn Baker’s Robusto (Churchill) searching for a run before Accredited (All Too Hard) came up on his outside and closed the door, Estadio Mestalla was still making every post a winner and while the race appeared over, it was now more a question as to who was going to fill the minor placings.
Winning by the best part of a length and a half, It was the first stakes victory for Estadio Mestalla, with Robusto taking second after finally securing clear running, just ahead of the winner’s stablemate Accredited.
Pride was perplexed after Estadio Mestalla's efforts at his prior two runs, but some changes resulted in success.
"He has been very disappointing at his first two runs back and I have honestly been scratching my head because he is a very genuine and very honest horse," Pride said.
"It's not like him to be out of the money like that.
"I went a little bit early with the blinkers than what I normally would in a preparation but I felt like I had to do something and make a change.
"It was fantastic. It was good to see him out there rolling along and he looked happy and comfortable and gave a really big kick."
"I have been telling the jockeys, 'watch him going to the gates because he'll pull and be a bit ferocious' and the first two runs back he has gone around like a kid's pony," he said.
"Today, he took off a bit on the rider and I thought, 'this is better'.
Initially part of the Chris Waller stable, The Racing League's (TRL's) NSW Tycoons syndicate and partners were fortunate enough to secure the gelding for $65,000 via Inglis Digital and with Saturday’s win taking his earnings past $780,000, he’s been a great money spinner for connections.
The second of three winners at the meeting for Gibbons, it was clearly a good day.
"I thought we were going to see a good performance and with a million owners too, I didn't want to be the most hated man at Rosehill so I had to get him home," Gibbons said.
Having finished second in The Big Dance last year, TRL representative Terry Kennedy felt they would try and secure a position in that race once again, hoping to go one better this November.
"This horse just got nosed out in the Little Dance but for the NSW Tycoons, this is up there with our biggest wins," Kennedy said.
"We will try to qualify this horse for the Little Dance again and try to win it this time."
One of eight stakes winners, and first in Australia for his sire Galileo Gold, the Mrs Lena Farrell -bred Estadio Mestalla is one of three winners out of the Elusive Quality mare Superior Charm from an international black type family.
