The downgrading of the Caulfield track from a Soft 5 to a Soft 7 prior to the running of Bletchingly Stakes was some cause of concern for the connections of King Of Sparta.
But it all ended well for the Sydney-trained three-year-old who took out the Group 3 1200m sprint on Saturday in a stirring battle.
Under the urgings of Jye McNeil, King Of Sparta ($7.50) scored a half-neck win over the $4.40 favourite Scallopini with Mariama ($4.80) a further 3-Œ lengths away third.
Melbourne representative for the Peter and Paul Snowden stable Andrew Angelone said there was concern about the track softened by continued light rain throughout the day.
“The track was getting downgraded, and we queried it, but all-in-all its ended well,” Angelone said.
King Of Sparta was not drawn to advantage on Saturday in barrier one after races earlier in the program saw runners getting away from the fence.
Angelone said instructions to McNeil were to keep him ‘stoked up and on the bridle’ while the rest was left to Melbourne’s leading rider for the 2021-22 season.
“He jumped well, Jye put him in a great position and when it opened up you could see he was going to be hard to beat a long way out,” Angelone said.
“There’s the option of running again in two weeks at Flemington (Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap), but that will be up to Peter and Paul after we see how he pulls up.
“Hopefully the weather does fine up for him, and he can be competitive again.”
McNeil said his first task was extricating King Of Sparta from the fence and he said his plan was to follow Damien Oliver on the favourite Scallopini.
“He gave me a beautiful cart into the race and thankfully the luck came at the right time,” McNeil said.
“There was a concern whether he would handle the conditions today, but he let down fantastic and he was able to hold on in good style.
“He toughed it out, which he did really well and it’s special to go out a winner.”
