Most punters thought the Golden Eagle would be won by the Japanese or French. Somebody forgot to tell the English.
The William Haggas-trained Lake Forest and jockey Cieren Fallon rocketed along the rails to pop up at the last second to clinch the $10 million Golden Eagle at Rosehill on Saturday.
Cieren Fallon celebrates on Lake Forest in the Golden Eagle.Credit: Getty Images
French galloper Lazzat finished second, but not before lodging a protest and arguing that Lake Forest had taken his run in the last couple of strides.
The protest was quickly dismissed before the celebrations started for the connections of the English horse that was not expected to run the 1500m. Fallon intended to cut loose by downing a few “cold pints of milk”.
“I don’t drink beer, I love milk,” he said.
Fallon, the son of former Irish champion jockey Kieren Fallon, said he had spoken with his father the morning of the race and always knew he was on a live chance.
He showed tremendous foresight to stick to the fence before motoring home to take the $5.25m first prizemoney, $525,000 of which will go to the Ricky Stuart Foundation.
It was Fallon’s first trip to Sydney, and the passionate Wigan Warriors fan only wishes the race was run during the NRL season so he could have attended a rugby league game.
“I knew I had a good horse, and it would take a good one to beat me,” Fallon said.
“I went through this race so many times. I thought there’s only one way to win this, and that’s by saving ground, and if we get lucky along the rails, we get lucky. It was the best way to ride him, and it’s paid off.
“I was confident he’d stay. In all his races he’s cried out for much further. He’s a horse that relaxes, which allows him to stay. And there’s a bend here [at Rosehill], which really does help a horse stepping up in trip.
“I was unsure if they went so quick early, they’d take the speed out of him, but they didn’t. He showed what a good horse he is.”
Sitting inside the stewards’ room, Haggas’ stable representative Isabella Paul said Lake Forest could have won by further had he not bumped into the tiring Lazzat.
Things got desperately tight in the closing stages of the $10 million race.Credit: Getty Images
Haggas is no stranger to winning big Australian races after hit-and-run success with Addeybb, Dubai Honour and Young Rascal.
Lazzat’s trainer, Jerome Reynier, whose horse was unbeaten in six starts before heading to Australia, said the early duel for the lead with fourth placegetter Makarena cost both of them the race.
“He was challenged way too early by Makarena. They fought each other, and to me, they both lost the race by doing that – they could have finished first and second had they waited 200m more,” Reynier said.
“But first and second for Europe in this race. It will only give ideas to other European trainers to give this race a go.”
Japanese filly Ascoli Piceno was backed into $3.10 favouritism, but finished 12th.
The wide gate was never going to help her, but she was still disappointing.
“She had a few things that went against her. At the start, the horse on my left [Veight] jumped and ducked in straight away,” Jockey Joao Moreira said.
“I had to use her a bit to get in front of some horses and find one that would take me into a race.
“I was behind Joliestar, which is where I would have loved to have been [before the race]. But Joliestar put a length on me in the end.
“Maybe the track affected her a bit. There was a bit of give there. She needed it hard.”
It ended up an expensive day for Fallon and Lazzat’s rider, Italian Antonio Orani, who were both hit with one-month suspensions for careless riding.
Fallon was also hit with a $100,000 fine — his Golden Eagle collect for the ride was $262,500 — while Orani was slugged $30,000.
Lake Forest ensured the race went offshore a second straight year after Japan’s Obamburumai won last year.
