Boniface impresses in debut Australian win

Boniface was ridden like the best horse in the race and finally rewarded punters who kept the faith with his win in the Group 3 $250,000 Premier’s Cup (2000m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

The French import had been raced without much luck in his four previous Australian starts but star jockey Tommy Berry rode the gelding confidently and the combination proved too good for their rivals.

Berry took bad luck out of the equation when he positioned Boniface in second position behind So You Are and they remained in that order until well into the straight,.

But Boniface wrested control of the race and won with authority, indicating he is a horse to follow this spring carnival.

“We got the first half too easy and Rachel’s (King, rider of So You Are) has got a beautiful knack of getting horses into a lovely rhythm, slipping you down the side and you can’t get her back,” Berry said.”So, I just had to make sure I was close enough without trying to get to the front too early on my bloke.

“When they haven’t won for a while, they lack a little bit of confidence and he needed that today, so I’m sure he’ll go on with it now.”

Berry was the new rider of Boniface and made a point of acknowledging the role the gelding’s previous jockey, Tyler Schiller, had in the Premier’s Cup triumph.

“I’ve got to say, full credit to Tyler, who’s ridden him at his last couple.” Berry said.

“He obviously didn’t get the ride today, but he came around and saw me and told me everything I needed to know about the horse. That just shows what a top bloke he is, and he’ll obviously get his turn.”

Boniface ($2.45 favourite), trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Junior, wore down leader So You Are ($3.60) to win by a half length with the fast finishing Matusalem ($8) a short head away third. Those comparing the best betting sites with bonuses saw the favourite justify strong market support.

Ben Elam, the Sydney stable representative for Price and Kent, said Boniface gave a demonstration of his emerging talent with his strong win.

“We had to feel our way with him trying to get into this race,” Elam said.

“It’s a race that always has some nice horses in it but it doesn’t get a massive field every year so we thought he was a chance of getting a run.

“We got the run on Monday with nominations being a little bit skinny. He’s trained on really well, we haven’t done a lot with him as he’s a highly strung horse, albeit he is relaxed.

“He puts a lot into his work so we don’t do much galloping with him. He’s a French import that we have had to ‘unwind’ a little bit.

“So, it was really good to see him relax outside the leader. I would like to see him with a bum in front of him so he can follow and be dragged into the race.

“He did a pretty good job and hit the line strongly so we are very pleased.”

Elam said there was plenty of merit in Boniface’s win as the gelding is “definitely a better chaser, for sure.”

“But I said to Tommy I don’t care where you land just get him to relax,” Elam said.

“If he finds a rhythm he will give you that sharp turn of foot he has got and he can sustain the gallop.

“I know he didn’t win by a big margin but I think you can say this horse has won by a margin that was respective of the run he had in transit.”

Elam said it is likely Boniface will go next to the Group 2 $300,000 Kingston Town Stakes (2000m) at Royal Randwick on September 12 then the Group 2 $2 million Hill Stakes (1900m) at Rosehill Gardens on October 10.