A brave decision by rider Masa Hashizume and trainer Hollie Elliot paid off in style as Archaic Smile held out a smart field of sprinters to claim the Listed Lindauer Stewards Stakes (1200m) at Riccarton.
Earlier in the day the winners were coming down the middle of the track as riders ignored the inside portion of the surface at every opportunity, due to them perceiving it was slower there with greater moisture in that area.
Hashizume had walked the track before the race and assured Elliot it had dried sufficiently to allow Archaic Smile to make the most of her inside barrier by staying hard against the running rail throughout.
With every other runner heading out to the centre of the circuit, Archaic Smile was left to her own devices and rounded the home bend more than three lengths to the good of her rivals where race favourite Platinum Attack and the well supported Cheerio were leading the charge after her.
Riding for all he was worth, Hashizume got the best out of his mount as she gave him everything she had to hold out Platinum Attack by just over a length at the line with Undisputed charging home to take third.
Elliot, who along with Hashizume had taken out the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) on the first day of the Carnival with Angels Halo, was quick to thank her rider for the role he played in this victory.
“That was awesome,” Elliot said.
“We talked before the race and he (Hashizume) said he had walked the track and thought the fence is good, so I said if we have one Achilles heel today it is race fitness, so take the shortest way home.
“She is a mare with so much ability and although we’ve have tried to stretch her out to a mile, we are now going to keep her to the sprint trips as she seems to love it.
“Mr Otani (owner) is a great guy, and he was thinking of putting her to stud this year, but I said give her a really good spell as she has never had one. It was really hard to get the weight off her as she did so well, but I’m glad we waited as she needs the good tracks.
“She knows the drill and she came here and owned it.”
Hashizume admitted he had formed his plan before the race but did momentarily have some second thoughts before sticking to it.
“I didn’t have a ride in the last three races (before this one) and I was lucky enough to walk the track and saw that the inside was okay,” he said.
“I wished I had cover (during the running), but everyone came off the fence, and I did think about following them, but I had decided to stay against the rail and hope she was ready and she was.
“Hollie decided to bring her here fresh, so it was a massive effort.”
By Saxon Warrior out of So You Think mare On The Ball, Archaic Smile was a $55,000 purchase by owner Masa Otani out of the Woburn Farm’s Book 1 draft at Karaka in 2023 and has now won over $531,000 in prizemoney from six wins and five placings from just 24 race starts.
She's a mare with a lovely pedigree as her dam On the Ball is a half-sister to stakes-winner Swords Drawn and is also a grand-daughter of G3 winner Palia, the dam of G1 winning sire Onemorenomore. - LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
