Buckaroo (+750) has recorded back-to-back victories as the Chris Waller-trained gelding stormed clear in the concluding stages to take out the Group 1 Underwood Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday.
Following his narrow victory in the Group 2 Chelmsford Stakes, the son of Fastnet Rock has continued his winning ways by rounding up his rivals on the home turn before sprinting away from the rest of the field.
Duke De Sessa (+1400) jumped well from the barriers to take up the lead, ahead of Pericles ($4.40) and Muhnamek (+3000), who settled behind the leader on a solid tempo in the 1800m contest.
Joao Moreira was able to find cover on the back of Vow And Declare (+3300) midfield in the three-wide running line before peeling even wider to make his run on the eventual winner.
As the leaders swung out to the middle of the track, it was evident that Buckaroo had their measure at the top of the straight, and he quickly swept on by at the 200m mark.
Huetor (+7000) ran on strongly from the back of the field to nab second behind Pericles, who held on for third place.
Clinton McDonald spoke about the victory post-race.
“Big thanks to the staff, especially Tarni, who looks after him. So, it’s just nice to put yourself on the line and see the horse reward you like that,” McDonald said.
“We do think he’ll run a mile.
“Obviously, that was a great winner, so he had to get back to the worst ground and lost momentum, and the horses down the outside had the momentum.
“So, we think he’s a proper colt, he’s showing us that now, and I’m just spewing a half of a bet with the track being a bit shifty!
“Well, we know how to win both (Coolmore Stud Stakes and Caulfield Guineas).
“We did it with (Weekend) Hustler, so we might do it with this colt.
“He does things at home that only the real good ones do, and we’re pretty happy with him.”
Ben Melham echoed similar thoughts to McDonald in his post-race interview.
“Yeah, well, our opinions never changed of him,” Melham said.
“I’ve always had a really high opinion of him.
“I was a bit concerned going to the barriers today because he’s just been going that well and the more work we do with him.
“He came in today, I thought he was a bit above himself, and his horse is a little bit windy, so you’ve got to keep him in a nice rhythm, and from a better draw today, I had to give him a little squeeze away, and I was really happy the way he handled himself.
“He relaxed really well, he was a bit sticky coming into the corner.
“I was just waiting on a run and the inside wasn’t really my preference, but that’s where it opened up and I knew I had plenty of horse, so I had to go there and his ability shone through at the finish.
“Well, I knew I had plenty of horse under me, but I had the better chances on my outside in the better ground, so it just adds more merit to his win, I think.
“He was strong through the line there, so he’d probably head to the mile at this stage and if he gets things right, he’s, you know, you have a lot of chances for sure.”
Angel Capital is a $7 chance with top horse racing bookmakers in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas futures markets.
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