Cult hero Stoneyrise resumed from a spell with a strong win in the $25,000 Crystal Sprint (1200m).
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The gelding, trained out the back o’ Bourke by James Hatch, finished well from midfield to beat outslog his rivals in the rapidly deteriorating conditions.
The six-year-old, ridden by Mathew Cahill, started a $2.80 favourite and beat Rubymay ($11.00, Ben Looker) by one-and-a-quarter lengths, with Professor Marx ($3.80, Robbie Dolan) just behind that pair in third. Hatch was over the moon post-race, admitting he had concerns about his star’s chances of taking out the event when the rain started falling.
“He’s a freak. To come from where he did on a wet track, first up. Unreal,” Hatch said on Sky Thoroughbred Central.
“I was a bit worried because he was first up over 1200m and it got heavy but how good is he?”
For Cahill, the win was a pleasing one, and he expects the gelding to get better with racing. “He raced a bit closer than usual, which was handy,” Cahill said.
“He got tired the last 100m, which he was entitled to do first up on a wet track at 1200m.
“I knew the best part of his races was the last 300m, so I was confident he would pick them up, but he will only improve that run because he did start the labour a bit late.”