Ben Hayes believes Evaporate is a Group 1 winner in waiting, but with star mare Autumn Glow among his George Ryder Stakes opponents at Rosehill, he concedes connections might have to wait a little longer.
The winner of six of his 21 starts, Evaporate almost captured an elusive major last start when he was edged out by Tom Kitten in the All-Star Mile (1600m) at Flemington to record his fourth Group 1 placing.
Hayes has pinpointed the Doncaster Mile (1600m) as the horse’s major goal in Sydney and says a clash with Autumn Glow in Saturday’s George Ryder Stakes (1500m) will provide a good measuring stick towards that aim.
“It’s going to be a hot race, but it will let us know where we’re at and then he will probably head to the Doncaster with 54-1/2 (kilos),” Hayes said.
“He’s won over $3 million and hasn’t won a Group One, so it’s a pretty good effort. Not many do that.
“He’s a Group One horse that just hasn’t done it yet.”
Evaporate ($23) has competed at stakes level since he was a spring three-year-old and is proven the Sydney way of going, having won the Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) at Randwick 12 months ago and placed behind Autumn Glow in the Golden Eagle (1500m).
Hayes was delighted with his All-Star Mile effort when he had to cart the field up to noted frontrunner Pride Of Jenni and kept fighting to the line.
“It was super. He towed the field up to Jenni, chased her. Tom Kitten sat off him and just got him late,” he said.
“But I loved the way he kept kicking. He has always been a genuine horse.”
The George Ryder Stakes is a traditional lead-up to the Doncaster Mile, which is also the goal for under-rated gelding Encap.
Resuming with a solid sixth in the Canterbury Stakes (1300m) where he finished less than 1-1/2 lengths from winner Joliestar, Encap has enjoyed a trouble-free campaign so far after a spring preparation disrupted by wet tracks.
“His feet are so much better now too,” Portelli said.
“We’ve had problems with his feet over the years, and he wasn’t coming out of the gates and getting going, I think because they were hurting him.
“He almost won the Doncaster Mile last year at 50-1. We don’t care about the price as long as we get a result, although his pattern makes it very hard to win and he is up against the best horses.”
As a $126 outsider, Encap is one of two George Ryder Stakes runners at triple-figure odds along with Hawkes Racing’s Nepotism ($201).
