A showdown race featuring a galaxy of stars, the $3million Group I VRC Champions Mile (1600m) delivered a battle for the ages at Flemington on Saturday and with the NZB Ready to Run Sale next week there is no greater ambassador for that sale than the mighty Kiwi bred gelding Ceolwulf.
The Joe Pride-trained Ceolwulf landed the spoils after a stirring 400m battle with runner-up Pericles with a nose margin in his favour.
The five-year-old son of Tavistock was well and truly headed by Pericles inside the final furlong but relished the fight when galvanised under rider Chad Schofield on a testing Heavy 9 track.
The last start winner of the Gr.1 King Charles III Stakes (1609m) is now a four-time Group One winner at a mile and proved he had no issue with interstate travel when racing outside of Sydney for the first time.
“That was fantastic, really special. I love winning races here,” Pride said.
“This horse has really turned it on in the second half of the preparation and has strung a couple of very good wins together.
“I thought at the 200m that he wasn’t enjoying it. He was wandering around a little bit but as soon as Pericles challenged him he rallied and then it was a really good go to the line with two good horses.
“I’ve thought for a long time he’s the best horse I’ve trained and with his last two wins, he’s certainly cemented his spot there. It’s great work from the team at home and it’s a big effort to get these horses here on the big days. He’s never travelled away before, but he’s handled it really well and we’ll be back.
“I’d love to be back here for the Cox Plate (Gr.1, 2040m). Whether or not he is as good at 2000m as he is at a mile, we’ll find out in the autumn (and) probably in the Queen Elizabeth.
“I normally travel my horses at some stage of their career but through circumstance he hadn’t had a trip away, but it’s nice to see him do that today as some horses don’t like it, don’t enjoy it, but he’s relished it.”
Winning rider Chad Schofield said the win was gutsy.
“He jumped really well today and he took the most out of that good jump and put himself in a more forward position and when the race heated up around the 600m, I was still going really well,” he said.
“Mr Brightside was gone and I had to get off his back and get going. He ambled into it and then he had a good look when he hit the big Flemington straight for the first time and he got a bit lost for a while until Pericles got in front of him and then he could see him with his blinkers and he was the stronger horse late.
“If you had asked me how I was feeling at the 400, I’d have said it was race over. He ambled up and came into it but in the Flemington straight he put his head up and baulked. That allowed Pericles to get a margin on me, and when he saw him he went again.”
Ceolwulf was bred by Cambridge Stud owners Sir Brendan and Lady Jo Lindsay and is a son of the Shamardal mare Las Brisas.
The gelding is a graduate of the 2022 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale, where Pride and part-owner Leighton Howl went to $170,000 to secure him from Riversley Park’s draft.
Ceolwulf has now had 25 starts for seven wins and seven placings to advance his career earnings to A$10,936,795. – NZ Racing Desk
