Yonkers has continued his love affair with the Caulfield circuit by registering his third win from four starts at the track.
The Chris Waller stable would not mind racing more often at Caulfield with Yonkers following another tough victory.
In taking out the Cyclotek Handicap (2000m) on Saturday, Yonkers recorded his third win at the course from four starts.
Yonkers won over 2407m last October while his two most recent victories have been over 2000m.
His one “miss” was over 2400m behind Mohican Heights before he was dropped in distance to 2000m to win at the track on April 24.
Yonkers then headed to Wagga, finishing a long-neck second in the Cup there on May 7 before appreciating a nicely run 2000m race on Saturday.
Sent off the $2.80 favourite under Damien Thornton, Yonkers recorded a short-neck victory from Last Week ($11) with Bedford ($14) a nose away third.
Jo Taylor, in charge of the Melbourne stable for Waller, said Thornton rode a smart race.
“Things didn’t quite work out for him in Wagga, but he pulled up well from that and Damien knows him well,” Taylor said.
“It looked early on that he had to make the decision whether he was going to come back or try and push up a little bit more, but I think he made the right choice to slide back a touch.
“He really got the soft run in and we had a nice good pull into the race and was produced at the right time which helped him through his gears.”
Thornton described Yonkers as a “dude” to ride, although over the last 600m he can be a tough ride.
“It worked out very similar to the Wagga Cup last time,” Thornton said.
“He was in the same spot there, but there was probably a touch more give in the track today. It was quite firm at Wagga and he just didn’t seem to be able to let go quite as well.
“He was good today but I think where he’s best effective is on ground where there is soft give in it.”
