The advantages of the Hawkes family’s dual-state operation was on show at Saturday’s Finals Day meeting at Flemington, where the father-and-sons training team won the $175,000 Taj Rossi Series Final with Marwooba.
The John, Wayne and Michael Hawkes-trained son of Wootton Bassett bounced off a win at Rosehill on June 13 to score a Listed win in the 1600-metre event.
It was a winning return to Victoria for the gelding, who headed to Sydney after a 30-length last placing at Geelong at his first run for the campaign, and Wayne Hawkes said he was a beneficiary of the better weather north of Victoria at this time of year.
“He only got here yesterday and his coat looked amazing,” Hawkes, who oversees their Flemington stable, said.
“The Sydney horses just look so much better than the Melbourne horses, just because of the weather.
“There’s nothing anyone could do about that, but he just got off the float and he had a pig-root and was pretty happy with himself.”
Marwooba made the most of an economical run under Melbourne’s leading rider Craig Williams to get home from $2.70 favourite Star Of Macedon.
Williams settled Marwooba behind the speed, took a gap midway down the straight and accelerated nicely to open a race-winning lead. The $3.20 second elect scored by half a length with Ko Phangan ($7) three-quarters of a length off Star Of Macedon in third.
The win gave Williams victory in the day’s two races for juveniles, having won the $150,000 Next Generation Sprinters Series Final (1200m) aboard the $2 favourite Stars Of Dom according to leading Aussie betting sites.
Hawkes said attention would now turn to spring with Marwooba, with the Group 2 Bill Stutt Stakes (1600m) at Caulfield on September 27 a possible stepping stone to the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes in Sydney.
“We’re very happy to be here in the depths of winter winning a race in July, (he’ll go) back to Sydney and have three weeks off probably, then come back into work and he might end up in a Spring Champion (Stakes).
“There are plenty of options for him.”
