An all-the-way win by Chiaramonte in the Darby Munro Stakes won’t be enough to tempt trainer Peter Snowden to aim the colt at any other stakes races during the Sydney carnival.
The least favoured of the Darley trio in the Listed race at $41, Chiaramonte was taken to the front by Josh Parr from the outside barrier and held off all challenges.
Chiaramonte - Photo by Steve Hart
Brave Soul ($8) tried hard but could only get within half a neck with favourite Heart Testa ($4.60) another half length third.
“Josh was brave to do what he did,” Snowden said.
“It was a big step up in class for the colt and it’s a well-deserved win.
“I think the 1200 metres is as far as he wants and my first thoughts are to give him a break.
“It will either be a three-week freshen-up and then maybe a trip to Brisbane or he will have a good spell and come back in the spring.”
Parr was happy to be left alone to make up his own mind about where to settle in the race.
“I’m happy Pete let me ride him that way,” he said.
“Mick Dittman said it once – it’s a fine line between being a mug and a genius.”
Snowden’s other runners, Meidung and Limes, finished fourth and ninth respectively.
“Meidung’s run was excellent and she will go to the South Pacific Classic in three weeks and Limes will head to the Hawkesbury Guineas,” Snowden said.
By Redoute’s Choice out of Chiara, Chiaramonte is closely related to Group One-winning sprinter Star Witness and is a half-brother to stakes winners Ferocity and Chinchilla Rose.
There were few excuses for second favourite Ichihara ($5) who finished 12th of the 14 runners or She’s A Fox ($6) who beat just one runner home.
“She didn’t have the best of runs but she was below par,” Hugh Bowman said of Ichihara while Peter Robl was also disappointed with She’s A Fox.
“There must be something wrong. She went too bad to be true,” he said.
