Cummings has one ale galloper, Latest Racing News

A second Victoria Derby victory suddenly began to swirl in trainer Anthony Cummings’ mind from October 26th.

That day favorite El Castello beat all comers to a gallant victory in the A$2 million (US$1.8 million) Group 1 Moet & Chandon Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) for three-year-olds at Randwick.

Cummings always had a trip south to the race he won with Fiveandahalfstar in 2012 in the back of his mind.

He just didn’t say it out loud, preferring to wait for the spring champion to commit to a quick week’s backup.

While his legendary father Bart was known for his one-liners, Cummings is comparatively more talkative. But when he was put in place after the victory, he was still beating around the bush, although this time the hint was less subtle.

“I’d like to think it’s a good idea,” he said when asked about the upcoming A$2 million Group 1 (2500m) Victoria Derby on November 2.

“We spoke to Flemington earlier this week so we’ll just wait and see what happens.

“We have to get him home, he has to eat well, do well and be a fit horse tomorrow before we go anywhere.”

Cummings has the right to remain conservative, even if the temptation to take another shot is tempting. Heading into the spring champion, even having exited two straight events including the Group 3 Twilight Stakes (1800m) on his last start on October 12, El Castello was still a suspect for the trip given his relatively undiscovered pedigree on the track. father’s side.

A strong case was also made for a host of opponents ahead of the final Group 1 race at the Spring Racing Carnival in Sydney, including Swiftfalcon, his fast-closing runner-up Gloaming.

But El Castello managed to deftly overcome at least two unfortunate circumstances in the race, finish with a fatter prize fund and give his father Castelvecchio his first Group 1 victory.

The first “death trap,” as Cummings called it, came when he was among the early leaders and could have gone deeper than necessary.

The second skin of the banana came when Zack Lloyd decided to throw the cat among the pigeons on the outsider Flying Argento in the 600m. They took the lead, but Josh Parr sat as quiet as a church mouse on El Castello.

Cummings called the two turning points a “smart” move from the underrated jockey.

“He’s a very good horse and Josh Parr ran a reasonable race,” he said.

“At some point the race got a little confusing. Both the horse and Josh handled it very well.

“He kept his head down and released it at the right time, and when all this was happening he was very strong on the line.

“The horse bucked under him, but he was more positive than I expected. This made him work a little harder in the first furlong.

“It’s usually a bit of a death trap around here. We had to practice coming straight out of a big lead, but he was able to overcome it.

“He really switched off in the middle stages, he gives himself a chance to get the balance right and was always up for the challenge.

“I think experience, confidence in the horse and just knowing what’s under your feet, all those things come together in these types of situations.”

Parr said he raced El Castello as the best horse in the race and simply trusted him.

“I trusted him a lot. He allowed me to just lean on him early in the match and go with speed,” the Sydney hoop said.

“When that horse took off over there, I was able to just tell him, no, let’s just wait, let’s cool our jets a little bit.

“When he let loose, he was so strong on the line.”

[email protected]