Order Of The Sun has thrashed his opposition to give Gai Waterhouse her second straight VRC St Leger at Flemington.
The manner of the win was vastly different from a year ago when his stablemate Hippopus took a sit behind the speed.
On Friday, Order Of The Sun simply ran his rivals into the Flemington turf to score by seven lengths and book his place in next week’s Group One South Australian Derby at Morphettville.
Order Of The Sun, Chad Schofield - Photo by Sharon Chapman
Young jockey Chad Schofield took the three-year-old straight to the lead and Order Of The Sun was never headed.
Schofield said he looked over his shoulder at the 300m and knew the colt has his rivals covered.
“To be honest, I was surprised I was that far in front because he was just running so powerfully underneath me and I knew they’d be struggling to chase,” Schofield said.
Waterhouse removed blinkers from Order Of The Sun for the Listed St Leger (2800m) but Schofield said the son of Encosta De Lago could improve if the trainer re-applied them in the South Australian Derby.
“If they go back on in the Derby, there might be a few more lengths there,” Schofield said.
“On the feel he gave me today, he’ll be very hard to beat.”
Order Of The Sun has struggled on rain-affected tracks in Sydney during the autumn and struck a good track at Flemington for his first stakes win.
The David Hayes-trained Honey Steel’s Gold started the well-backed $3.10 favourite but found the winner too strong.
Honey Steel’s Gold pleased jockey Craig Williams with his effort, despite finishing a long way behind the winner.
“He mightn’t be seasoned enough to beat that type of stayer and he beat all of the Melbourne horses but he couldn’t beat the Sydney horse,” Williams said.
The durable three-year-old Throw The King finished third after backing up quickly from his win at Caulfield on Easter Monday.
Waterhouse will need to find a replacement rider for Schofield if she decides to run the stayer in the South Australian Derby.
Schofield will begin a 10-meeting suspension after Saturday’s meeting at Randwick where he rides Adelaide filly Go Indy Go in the Group One Champagne Stakes.
