Saint Emilion
Trish Dunell
Saint Emilion was allowed a free rein at Ellerslie and his opposition paid the price with the gallant grey taking the thick end of the stake in Tuesday's feature.
A habitual winner, the hard as nails frontrunner was never headed on his way to victory in the Gr.3 OMF Stakes.
"He got it all his own way and we thought that might happen," said Andrew Forsman, who trains the son of Mastercraftsman at Cambridge with Murray Baker.
"He's a tough horse and they can take him on, but they do that at their peril. He just goes forward and he can kick."
Under Matt Cameron, that's exactly what Saint Emilion did and he revelled in his work at the head of the field. He held a strong gallop down the straight to record the 11th win of his 24 start career.
"He's pretty much weighted out of handicaps so he's effectively a weight-for-age horse now," Forsman said.
Saint Emilion's last handicap win was three runs back at New Plymouth where he shouldered 60kg and he went to Hawke's Bay seven days later to finish seventh in the Gr.1 Livamol Classic.
"We had a throw at the stumps," Forsman said. "They put the pressure on him with 600 metres left and then he was a sitting shot so I thought he went a good race."
Against the pattern of the day, Benzini came from last on the turn to finish a meritorious second ahead of Consensus, who turned in a game effort in the defence of her crown.
"She had an extra run last year, she missed a race this time when the Matamata Cup was called off," said Stephen McKee, who prepares the mare with Eddie Chippendale. – NZ Racing Desk.
A habitual winner, the hard as nails frontrunner was never headed on his way to victory in the Gr.3 OMF Stakes.
"He got it all his own way and we thought that might happen," said Andrew Forsman, who trains the son of Mastercraftsman at Cambridge with Murray Baker.
"He's a tough horse and they can take him on, but they do that at their peril. He just goes forward and he can kick."
Under Matt Cameron, that's exactly what Saint Emilion did and he revelled in his work at the head of the field. He held a strong gallop down the straight to record the 11th win of his 24 start career.
"He's pretty much weighted out of handicaps so he's effectively a weight-for-age horse now," Forsman said.
Saint Emilion's last handicap win was three runs back at New Plymouth where he shouldered 60kg and he went to Hawke's Bay seven days later to finish seventh in the Gr.1 Livamol Classic.
"We had a throw at the stumps," Forsman said. "They put the pressure on him with 600 metres left and then he was a sitting shot so I thought he went a good race."
Against the pattern of the day, Benzini came from last on the turn to finish a meritorious second ahead of Consensus, who turned in a game effort in the defence of her crown.
"She had an extra run last year, she missed a race this time when the Matamata Cup was called off," said Stephen McKee, who prepares the mare with Eddie Chippendale. – NZ Racing Desk.