A pair of three-year-olds from rival stables have set themselves up for lofty spring campaigns after posting stylish maiden wins at Canterbury.
Ain’t He Grand from the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace yard and the Anthony Cummings-trained Kote both landed confidence-boosting victories at Wednesday’s midweek meeting to earn consideration for bigger assignments.
Kote campaigned in stakes races as a two-year-old and while he didn’t feature in the placings, Cummings’ racing manager Jonathon Crowley hoped Wednesday’s all-the-way win signalled the horse was ready to deliver on his promise.
“Last prep as a two-year-old, he ran in some very nice races. He wasn’t quite the finished article, and I don’t think he is yet, but he has certainly strengthened and improved and that was very good today,” Crowley said.
“Anthony always had big things in his mind for him and I think he has solidified that today.
“We will see how he pulls up now and see where we go from here, but he is definitely exciting.”
Kote holds a nomination for the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas, as does Ain’t He Grand, who settled midfield in a muddling run race before finishing resolutely under James Mcdonald.
The champion jockey says the lightly raced colt is still learning and will appreciate further than the 1550m of Wednesday’s assignment.
“He’s obviously going to get a lot further than he did today, but he’s a talented horse and when he mentally puts it together, he will be a lot better,” McDonald said.
“He felt like he was going to win for fun at the top of the straight. He got there and just idled but he was never going to get beaten. Terrific win.”
The Canterbury meeting also delivered a significant milestone for apprentice Zac Lloyd, who celebrated his first Sydney metropolitan victory aboard Impulse Control for Nathan Doyle.
The son of top jockey Jeff Lloyd got the job done despite having had just a handful of rides in town and almost made it a double when he went down narrowly aboard Fox Fighter in the final race.
Ain’t He Grand draws away with a good win!@mcacajamez starts his day of the right way with @cmaherracing. pic.twitter.com/TsDC0kU2xY
