JOCKEY Aaron Bullock was confident his mount was going to win the Coffs Harbour Gold Cup before the field had even hit the final turn.
“Coming to the corner I actually had to ask him to wait. It’s not often you can do that on horses like this,” Bullock said.
“But it was a good win in the end.”
A horse with Sikandarabad’s pedigree rarely finds itself racing in Coffs Harbour.
When the eight-year-old was in the David Hayes stable after initially racing in Ireland, the Dr Fong gelding claimed a win at Listed level as well as finishing third in a Group 1 Metropolitan and fourth in a Group 1 Toorak Handicap.
“I think class prevailed there,” the jockey said of the finish.
Battling up the straight with pre-race favourite The Academy, Sikandarabad found something extra to finish two lengths in front of a fast finishing The Kingdom and The Academy who stuck on near the fence.
Trainer Sam Kavanagh purchased the winner from the Hayes team for $100,000.
The $76,500 prize for winning the Gold Cup shows that it’s quickly turning into a prudent investment.
“At his best he’s a very good horse and I’m really thrilled with how he’s been going since he arrived in the stables and just that change in environment has given him a bit of a freshen up,” Kavanagh said.
“It’s just a huge thrill to win a race like this.”
A crowd of more than 500 people was trackside in a period where social distancing is vital for the sport to continue.
Kavangah said the coronavirus might mean a better spring than first planned for Sikandarabad.
“In a normal spring year I’d say he’d struggle to get to the top races as age is catching up with him,” he said.
“But in a COVID year a lot of horses won’t travel so we’ll probably nominate him in the Epsom and the Metropolitan.”
The next goal is the Group 3 Premiers Cup to be run at Rosehill on August 29.
By Brad GREENSHIELDS
