Godolphin colt Cylinder left Melbourne in November with a broken jaw and missing teeth, but less than four months later he was back winning the Silver Slipper at Rosehill on Saturday.
Cylinder ($4.60) revived Golden Slipper dreams, even though he remains a $15 chance for the world’s richest two-year-old race, after running down Magic Millions runner-up Platinum Jubilee ($4.40), with favourite King’s Gambit ($2.50) a close-up third.
Brenton Avdulla gets Cylinder home in the Silver Slipper.Credit:Getty
“We’re cooking with gas with this one. He is just loaded with ability,” trainer James Cummings said.
“To do that first up at his second preparation, that’s a damn good sign from this colt.”
Cylinder had smashed his jaw on the upright in the barriers and was somehow allowed to run by Melbourne vets when he was a brave second in the Merson Coooper Stakes in November.
He was rehabilitated by Godolphin and was under saddle again early this year.
“It was a good thing we went and had a look at him, and we thought there would be no problem throwing a saddle on him,” Cummings said.
“We just got him hacking around and moving, and you can see he has been able to come back quick enough to be a contender.
“He picked up where he left off last year and has the attitude to be able to cope with those things that went wrong for him.”
Cummings said the long time Cyclinder spent in the gates had him worried but from there he was the ultimate professional.
“They kept him in the barriers long enough in that small field there just to test him out, but he got back on all fours and he was quickly away,” Cummings aid.
“There was good pace in the race. I will be interested in how the time stacks up against the older handicappers in the race before and how the horse rates. There were some big names in there.
“He has developed, he’s grown a bit, he’s more mature this time. I think he has got what it takes to keep improving and get to the level required to be competitive in the Slipper in four weeks.”
Stewards questioned the tactics on King’s Gambit, which was restrained in the early stages as per instructions but hit the line strongly.
“He is still learning, the horse, and needs racecraft, so we will run him in the Todman Stakes in a couple of weeks because the only way he is going to learn is racing,” trainer Peter Snowden said.
Rawiller repays faith on Osipenko in the Hobartville
It was redemption for Nash Rawiller when Osipenko took out the group 2 Hobartville Stakes at Rosehill as the bubble burst on favourite Aft Cabin.
Rawiller said he was shattered after Osipenko’s first-up run turned into a horror show, but he repaid connections by getting every ounce out of the Pierro colt to gun down Zou Tiger. Matcha Latte was third in a blanket finish.
“I was a lot happier after we stepped a bit better today. I’ve got to say I was shattered after his first-up run,” Rawiller said. “We just drew barrier three, got caught three-wide, third-last, hanging out. So, probably the worst three things you can get in a horse race.
“To only finish three and a half lengths off them I thought was very credible, and thankfully the owners have stuck solid and given me another chance.
“It just worked out perfectly for him today, he’s a horse with good ability. I’m really happy to get the job done.”
Osipenko drove on the inside of Zou Tiger and had a short half-head margin at the post.
Zou Tiger ’s jockey, Brenton Avdulla, can’t wait for a return bout at the mile in the Randwick Guineas in a fortnight.
“He went awesome. He had the perfect spot. Just found one better on the day but will take improvement,” he said.
The $1.60 favourite Aft Cabin slipped coming out of the stall and jockey Tim Clark was left with little option but to come around to outside the leader Communist. By the 200m his race was run and he dropped out to run fifth.
“I was behind the eight ball from the barriers and I was still working to the half-mile. I just couldn’t get a spot and it left him vulnerable late,” Clark said.
Coolangatta surprises Kah with Lightning victory
Like most observers, Jamie Kah thought she was running for second on Coolangatta behind world champion Nature Strip in the Lightning Stakes at Flemington before the mare proved herself the fastest short-course sprinter in the country.
Coolangatta become the first horse to win Australia’s two 1000m group 1 races in the same season after he won last year’s Moir Stakes.
Kah sat off Nature Strip and stablemate Marabi and accelerated straight past them inside the 200m mark before holding off Bella Nipotina and I Wish I Win’s late challenges.
“I thought she would run second today. Honestly, I didn’t think she would be able to beat Nature Strip,” Kah said. “The race did shape out for her, there was pressure early, but she is half the size of him and she just does things she shouldn’t do. She is just an amazing horse.”
“She had a turn of foot. She’s been doing everything fast and just hanging on. But today, she waited off them and had a turn of foot.
“There were some very good horses in that race, and I’m just proud of her; she is just a ripper!”
It was a quinella for the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace yard and now they are thinking of trip to England.
“From here the dream would be Royal Ascot for everyone involved. She’s shown she likes the straight and I think everyone in the group would be keen to go there,” Eustace said.
Lloyd gets first group 2 win on Electric Girl
After more than a month on the sidelines, emerging apprentice Zac Lloyd returned with a winning treble at Rosehill, including his first stakes success on Electric Girl in the Millie Fox Stakes on Saturday.
Lloyd followed instructions perfectly, tracking Expat to the turn before being too strong late on Electric Girl. Roots came from well back to run third.
“I’ve got to give Zac credit; the last thing I said to him was count to ten before you really go all out and just be patient. They ran along and he just nursed her,” trainer Michael Hawkes said. “She is such a good trier that if she got a clear run she was always going to be hard to beat.
“Zac is only young and it has come quickly for him, but we had no hesitation putting him on her without the claim, and that’s why.”
Lloyd had earlier won on promising Astern filly Parisal and picked up the last on Andermatt, both for his boss, James Cummings.
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