Dal Cielo
Bradley Photography
Resurgent galloper Dal Cielo registered consecutive wins for the first time in his career at Randwick on Saturday but trainer Kris Lees had legitimate concerns before the barriers opened.
On a particularly hot day, Dal Cielo sweated up in the parade ring and became more restless behind the gates when Runsati had to be reshod on both front feet, delaying start time by almost 10 minutes.
But a composed ride by Glyn Schofield allowed the well supported favourite ($2.50) to find his feet early and produce a winning burst of speed at the business end of the race, defeating the David Pfieffer-trained Denmagic ($7) by a long neck with another length back to Danny O'Brien's Bullpit ($17) in third.
"The heat affects all horses but I thought he was starting to melt in the enclosure and then the hold up before the race I could see him getting stirred up," Lees said.
"He didn't have a great run in transit but I thought Glyn handled him really well – he presented him at the right time."
A Group I winner in New Zealand at two, Dal Cielo was competitive in Melbourne during the following spring but it soon became apparent that his prospects as a colt were limited which preceded a change of stables from leading New Zealand trainer Murray Baker to Lees at Newcastle, and a gelding operation.
"We were quite lucky to get the horse. He had really good form as a spring three-year-old but he may have lost his way as some colts do," Lees said.
"He's gelded now and there are a few new owners in him and they're having a bit of fun.
"He's got to step up again to be thinking about better races but go to an 1100 metre race in a couple of weeks and that will probably give us a good guide as to where we head."
The race Lees speaks of is a 4YO & UP Benchmark 93 Handicap at Rosehill on February 18. -racenet.com.au
On a particularly hot day, Dal Cielo sweated up in the parade ring and became more restless behind the gates when Runsati had to be reshod on both front feet, delaying start time by almost 10 minutes.
But a composed ride by Glyn Schofield allowed the well supported favourite ($2.50) to find his feet early and produce a winning burst of speed at the business end of the race, defeating the David Pfieffer-trained Denmagic ($7) by a long neck with another length back to Danny O'Brien's Bullpit ($17) in third.
"The heat affects all horses but I thought he was starting to melt in the enclosure and then the hold up before the race I could see him getting stirred up," Lees said.
"He didn't have a great run in transit but I thought Glyn handled him really well – he presented him at the right time."
A Group I winner in New Zealand at two, Dal Cielo was competitive in Melbourne during the following spring but it soon became apparent that his prospects as a colt were limited which preceded a change of stables from leading New Zealand trainer Murray Baker to Lees at Newcastle, and a gelding operation.
"We were quite lucky to get the horse. He had really good form as a spring three-year-old but he may have lost his way as some colts do," Lees said.
"He's gelded now and there are a few new owners in him and they're having a bit of fun.
"He's got to step up again to be thinking about better races but go to an 1100 metre race in a couple of weeks and that will probably give us a good guide as to where we head."
The race Lees speaks of is a 4YO & UP Benchmark 93 Handicap at Rosehill on February 18. -racenet.com.au