Cardinal Gem’s winning strike rate may not represent his level of talent as the gelding notched up his third career win from fourteen starts, but his connections are starting to be rewarded for his consistency.
“We’ve always had a very good opinion of him but he hasn’t had a lot of luck earlier in a lot of his races and his record should read a lot better than what it is,”Grahame Begg said.
A testament to Begg’s training, Cardinal Gem has effectively been in work since April this year, having raced through the Winter, cracking the 100 mark with Timeform for the second time with his second placing in the Silver Bowl Series’ Final.
With races at Flemington pushed back nearly an hour due to lightning and heavy rain in the area and the track downgraded to a heavy 10, Begg was unsure how Cardinal Gem would handle the surface but otherwise confident going in.
“We felt going into the race he was very well-placed dropping back from the 78, it was a solid 78 race at Caulfield a couple of weeks ago, and with Logan’s claim it just brought him in so well at the weights,” Begg said.
Thinking the 1400m is Cardinal Gem’s pet distance, Begg has a lofty goal in mind for next year.
“We think next year he might be a Stradbroke horse… if we can get his rating up and we can earmark him for something during the winter it would be really really good.”
Apprentice Logan Mcneil has built a good association with the stable, returning $1.67 for every $1 invested on Begg runners before today.
From a wide draw, McNeil had Cardinal Gem well back and without cover, also getting into a bumping duel at the top of the straight, but the young jockey was confident once he balanced up.
“At the top of the straight I thought we were in a bit of trouble but as soon we got going and he straightened up and balanced up in the going he really worked home well.”
