By Craig Kerry
The Ciaron Maher team expect Gringotts to eventually reach group 1 level and improve again in the $2 million The Ingham (1600m) in three weeks after another dominant win in difficult circumstances on Saturday in the $1 million The Gong (1600m) at Kembla Grange.
Gringotts, backed heavily late to start a $2.60 Sportsbet favourite, led from gate 14 under Tommy Berry and held off the challenge of Suparazi to take out the Kembla Grange feature by 0.8 of a length.
Tommy Berry riding Gringotts wins The Gong during at Kembla Grange.Credit: Getty Images
It was a repeat of his effort from a wide gate to win the $2 million Big Dance (1600m) last start at Randwick, and puts him in the frame for another rich payday in The Ingham.
Maher assistant trainer Johann Gerard-Dubord said the five-year-old, which carried top weight of 60 kilograms on Saturday, “will get better”.
“On a day-to-day basis, he’s still doing a lot wrong,” Gerard-Dubord said.
“There’s still some maturing to come. To do what he’s doing now, knowing there’s more to come, on a dry track today, a very fast track, and he’s a horse that doesn’t mind a bit of give in the track, so I just think he’s better than them.
“I think he will be hard to beat again if we got to the Ingham with him.
“I think he is [a group 1 horse] because of how dominant he is, while there’s still more there, every time.”
Berry said Gringotts was “very close” to being a group 1 horse.
“I think he’s better than I first thought he was,” Berry said.
“For a horse to win with 60 kilos, and he was sort of toying with them halfway down the straight. He spotted the horse out wider on the track about the same time I did, and he put the afterburners on, and he had more to give.”
Blake Spriggs was second on Suparazi but celebrated an emotional win on Headwall ($7.50) next race in the $300,000 The Warra (1000m).
The Matthew Smith-trained Headwall held off Dragonstone by a half-length, and Spriggs held back tears post-race when remembering the horse’s late part-owner, Marie Young.
“One of the owners, Marie, died of MND last year, and we had the funeral on top of the hill up there, and I really wanted to give the family something to be happy about because they’ve done it tough,” Spriggs said.
“They deserve to get something special to pick them up and let them know their mum and their wife is still looking over.”
Pride eyes quick back-up
Warwick Farm trainer Joe Pride was considering a back-up into the listed Max Brenner ATC Cup for Estadio Mestalla at Rosehill next Saturday after his gritty win in The Gong consolation (1600m).
Estadio Mestalla wins at Kembla Grange on Saturday.Credit: Getty Images
Estadio Mestalla, giving away seven kilograms to runner-up Chica Mojito, took out the benchmark 88 handicap by 0.8 of a length in a track record time of 1.33.50.
Pride was relieved to see the six-year-old, which has finished second eight times in 23 starts, lift late to score a fifth win.
“I thought today again he was going to run second,” Pride said.
“He clearly got headed, but he really fought very hard and it was a good win.
“The Ingham is there as an option, but I’d be fearful of missing out. I was actually coming here thinking I’d take him to Rosehill next week and race him in the 2000m listed race, and he still might do that.”
Parker has mare just right
Trainer Kerry Parker hit the mark with Justela for a popular – and fast – local win in the Midway Handicap (1400m).
The six-year-old mare, a $21 Sportsbet chance, and jockey Jay Ford cruised to a 1.8-length victory, in the benchmark 72 handicap to set a track record of 1.21.41. The surface was updated to a Good 3 after the race amid warm weather and winds.
The Midway was stacked with Kembla-trained gallopers, and Parker found the winning formula with Justela, which was fourth when first-up at Rosehill in the same grade two weeks earlier.
“A few of the locals own her and that was our plan, to go first-up to Sydney over 1300 to help her be cherry ripe for today,” Parker said.
“She got a lovely run in transit, and it was just up to her in the straight. I was surprised at the price, I thought the $17, $18 was nice.”
The track record did not survive another 1400m race. Waterhouse and Bott-trained I’mintowin lowered it to 1.21.18, carrying 62kg, in the benchmark 78 four races later.
The Robert and Luke Price-prepared Monte Kate ($20) made it a track record double at big odds for the locals when she won by the same margin as Justela in the 1200m benchmark 78 in 1.08.03.
Robert said the I Am Invincible-Arabian Gold mare, a $400,000 yearling, had epiglottis surgery early days and has a “one in 1000 horses” breathing problem.
“She’s a lovely filly, when she turns up,” Robert said.
“She’s had a few breathing issues, hence we’ve taken the blinkers off her, put a crossover on, and I think we solved a few things today.
“When she jumps in the gates, she’s taking that big one breath, and she’s billowing, so she’s displacing the palate, even with the tongue tie on. We’ve tweaked the gear enough today to get a result.”
