It took a track record and three years for Riodini to get his first Australian win in $1 million The Gong (1600m) at Kembla Grange on Saturday.
Riodini hadn’t exactly been a failure since arriving in Australia as a group 2 winner in New Zealand, but winning has proved a problem.
He was placed in the 2020 Epsom behind Probabeel and Funstar after being runner-up in Shannon Stakes as a four-year-old. Then last spring he was runner-up in the Chelmsford Stakes to Think It Over before splitting Verry Elleegant and Think It Over in the George Main Stakes, which is form that made it a surprise he only had 53.5 kilos in The Gong.
Riodini holds the chasers at bay in The Gong at Kembla Grange.Credit:Getty
“He has been a long time out of the winner’s stall and it’s good to see him back in form and finally getting a win, it is a great result for him,” said jockey Tim Clark, who decided to ride the Gai Waterhouse-Adrian Bott trained Riodini after the Nature Strip Stakes where he finished eighth.
“The last 100 in that race he really got through the line well and I said to Adrian and Gai at a mile next time I would really like to ride him.
“Then they had Surf Dancer in the race, but I had made up my mind and he got the job done.”
Riodini smashed the 1600m Kembla track record held by Mister Sea Wolf by nearly a second.
“The Ingham in few weeks now looks a good race for him,” Clark said. “These were the races Gai and Adrian picked out for him, and he might even get a bit better.”
It was a brilliant ride from Clark, who had Riodini in a rhythm from the gates and wasn’t worried about being three-wide without cover.
As he rounded the home corner, the six-year-old was travelling and found the front at the 200m. He was there to be beaten, but his quality kicked in as the challengers emerged.
They took ground from Riodini ($6.50 fav) on the line but he still had a half-length to spare on Hope In Your Heart ($7.50), with Old Flame ($7) the same margin back third.
“He began OK and there was a bit of pressure, and I didn’t want to get him out of his comfort zone,” Clark said. “He travelled and covered a bit of ground, but that hasn’t been the worst thing here today.
“I got shove on the corner but was going so well.
“I have had a bit to with Hope In Your Heart and knew how well she was going, but into the last 100m he really responded when he felt her coming.”
While Riodini will continue to the Ingham, Hope In Your Heart and Old Flame will have a spell to get ready for the autumn.
Hope In Your Heart’s trainer Kerry Parker was proud of his mare in defeat.
“I know how hard it is to run Riodini down from Think It Over [in the Chelmsford Stakes] and he met him at level weights. She gave him two kilos and it was just too much for her today,” Parker said. “They have smashed the track record and she has shown she is great mare.
“She will be better next year, so we can look forward to the autumn.”
Everything works out perfectly for Lloyd on Athletic in The Warra
Godolphin’s brains trust and apprentice Zac Lloyd sat down and mapped out The Warra (1000m) before Saturday, and it worked out just as they envisaged for Athelric ($5) on Saturday.
Lloyd, who still claims three kilograms, played his role by finding the box seat behind the speed set by Remlaps Gem and Malkovich and then sprinting clear to beat Key Largo ($15) and Dragonstone ($7).
“He is a gem because he just executes so well,” Lloyd said. “It went exactly as we thought. I thought he was going to win easily, but he just stargazed a bit there at the end.
“It is great to get these opportunities, and it is a nice cheque to get on a very good horse.”
Lloyd added another victory for Godolphin on the last favourite of the day, Tamerlane.
Close and a cigar for Cuban Royale
Kembla Grange trainer Luke Price wasn’t surprised when Cuban Royale swept down the centre of the track to win at his home track.
Even though he is an eight-year-old and started at $31, Cuban Royale was set for a first-up coup by Price.
“We picked this race out a while ago for him and I felt he was one of our best chances, especially after his work on Tuesday,” Price said. “I rode him and I’m 20 kilos heavier than a jockey, and I couldn’t hold him slow enough. I said to Brock [Ryan] pulling up it will take a good one to beat this old bloke on the weekend.”
On the line, it looked like Broken Arrows had won in a deceptive finish. It was the second time in three years on Gong day that his connections had celebrated a win only to see another number go up.
“I have been on both sides of photos like that here,” Price said. “I thought maybe we won on the post but wasn’t confident.”
Broken Arrow’s trainer, David Pfieffer, had a look at the photo and was surprised to find there was a bigger winning margin than back to third placegetter Rainbow Connection.
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