Lanciato has staged a dramatic last-to-first performance to win the Newcastle Newmarket and set himself up for a tilt at the Group One Doncaster Mile.
His trainer Mark Newnham admitted he was a hard horse to watch because of his racing pattern and his supporters who sent him out the $3.80 favourite in Friday’s Group Three 1400m-feature had some anxious moments.
But Rachel King didn’t panic, steering the gelding to the outside when she couldn’t find a run and he picked up under her urgings to beat Mister Sea Wolf ($6) by more than a length.
“He is a hard horse to watch because he leaves you wondering whether he will make it in time,” Newnham told Sky Thoroughbred Central.
“It’s a big advantage having someone like Rachel with the faith to ride him like that.”
Newnham said the $3 million Doncaster Mile at Randwick on April 7 was the target but Lanciato needed a few things to go his way, including a firm track.
“We don’t get many dry Doncasters lately,” he said.
“But yes it is an aim.”
Newnham, who is in his second season as a trainer after many years at Tulloch Lodge with Gai Waterhouse, operates stables at Randwick and Warwick Farm where Lanciato is stabled.
King, who recently outrode her apprentices’ claim, thanked Newnham for sticking with her.
“I’m so lucky Mark is loyal to me,” she said.
“Everything panned out.
“He (Lanciato) is unbelievable. His turn of foot is unreal.”
Lanciato has 50kg in the Doncaster, a weight within King’s range, and is now at $26.
