Cavalry Rose made a wayward but winning debut to double her purchase price at Rosehill with a stirring victory over Diamond Earth in the Inglis Classic at Rosehill on Saturday.
It took the length of the straight for the Gerald Ryan-trained filly to overhaul Diamond Earth with the pair putting a gap on their rivals.
Cavalry Rose made a wayward but winning debut to double her purchase price at Rosehill - Photo by Steve Hart
Cavalry Rose ($3.20) started favourite just ahead of the Anthony Cummings-trained Diamond Earth ($3.30) but her task looked forlorn with 200 metres to go.
With Glyn Schofield riding hard, Cavalry Rose gathered in her rival who started to weaken and went on to win by a half-neck.
Taxmeifyoucan ($16) led the rest of the pack 6-1/4 lengths away.
“She was all over the shop,” Ryan said.
“She has only had two jumpouts and one trial. I was tempted to give her another trial on Tuesday and halfway down the straight I was cursing that I hadn’t.
“But she’s only a two-year-old and I think she has natural improvement.”
An $85,000 yearling, Cavalry Rose collected a $20,000 BOBS bonus on top of her first prize of $150,000 for her win in the race restricted to graduates of last year’s Inglis Classic sale.
Questions had been raised about Diamond Earth’s ability to run 1200 metres after she won two 1000-metre races but Cummings and jockey Peter Robl believe she can.
“One step is a long way in a race,” Cummings said.
“She’s run really well. Maybe if she had drawn a better gate she might have got a bit softer time as she had to do a bit of work, but she’s very quick.
“She’ll improve from that again. She’ll go back to the farm for a couple of weeks now and we’ll have a think about where we go to next.
“We know she runs 1100 metres if nothing else.”
Robl said the last part of the race was hard work.
“She really walked the last 75 metres but to her credit she relaxed a lot better than she did at Warwick Farm last start and I reckon next start she’ll be even better again,” he said.
“She’s such a willing little filly and just wants to do everything for herself in the first furlong (200m).
“She’ll run 1200 metres no problems.
“I thought I was home. It was just the last 75 metres that I thought I was in trouble.”
But Schofield believed the merit of his filly’s win should not be underestimated.
“Not often a two-year-old has to come through the adversity that she had to in the run,” Schofield said.
“She had to stop, start, stop, start two or three times.
“I know the second horse has probably weakened on the line which has made it easier for us to run over the top of it but the closer I was getting to Peter the more she was being competitive.
“It was a good effort.”
The three-day Inglis Classic sale begins in Sydney on Sunday.
AAP TURF
