Roll the Dice Racing have been enjoying a winning run of late with Guest House carrying their colours to victory in the Golden Slipper last month and they were back in the winner’s circle at Caulfield on Saturday with Russian Revolution gelding Hughes.
Now trained by Gavin Bedggood, Hughes has been a journeyman for his ownership group after starting life in the Price Kent stable where he won two of his first three starts in provincial races in Victoria.
He’s been working through his grades since then and came into the Group III MRC Victoria Handicap (1400m) off a last start win in the Echuca Cup.
Punters did not have a lot of respect for that win and he went off at 20-1, but given a gem of a ride by Jett Stanley, Hughes enjoyed a cosy run in transit and when angled into the clear was able to forge clear and win by a length and a half.
Hughes was low flying with the win shaving 0.13 seconds off Exceed And Excel’s 2003 course record of 1:21:20 for 1400m, and Jett Stanley was shocked by the time.
“That kind of surprised me – my confidence is big, but I think he’s got bigger confidence than me, that was really good,” he said.
“They went very quick in the early stages, and then everyone was sort of edging off the fence to make their own runs.
“I was a bit worried about where I was going to end up, but luckily the heavens opened up. There wasn’t that much horse underneath me when I asked him just to ride up onto heels, but once that gap opened, his turn of foot was second to none.”
Hughes was a $140,000 Inglis Premier purchase from Sledmere Stud for : Roll The Dice Racing / Rogers Bloodstock and has the overall record of nine wins and seven placings from 25 starts with prizemoney just shy of $560,000.
Hughes was bred by China Horse Club and is a half-brother to Group I VRC Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Ozzmosis being the second stakes-winner among three winners from three foals to race from Group III winning Darci Brahma mare No More Tears.
It’s a prolific Black Type family with third dam Procure spawning a dynasty of stakes-winenrs and expensive yearlings with two youngsters from the family selling for $1million or more at Inglis Easter earlier this week.
A full sister to Group II winner Learning to Fly sold for $1.3million and an I Am Invincible filly from stakes-winner Invictus Salute sold for $1.55million.
No More Tears had a colt by Zoustar last spring before being covered again by the champion sire.
Hughes is the 15th stakes-winner for Russian Revolution and is his fourth this season.
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