Victorian trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman sent their emerging Kiwi-bred talent Rhapsody Chic to Sydney on Saturday and came away with a stunning win at Randwick.
The Benchmark 78 handicap was the third straight victory for the four-year-old gelding, who had won a Benchmark 64 at Seymour and a Benchmark 70 at Sandown in his two previous starts.
The Randwick raid marked a much tougher test as he stepped up into Saturday class and lined up for his first start the Sydney way around. His task grew even more difficult when he was slow to leave the starting gates, settled second-last and was languishing more than a dozen lengths from the leader with 800m remaining.
But jockey Nash Rawiller angled Rhapsody Chic into clear air in the Randwick straight and got him balanced up, and his mount changed gears and bounded home down the middle the track. He was still only sixth with 200m to run, but quickened superbly to sprint past Pure Alpha and snatch victory by half a length.
“They said he’s a pretty nice horse, and he had to be to overcome the run that he had,” Rawiller said. “He stood there when the gates opened, and I thought that if I’d given him a squeeze at that point, he might have got it all wrong.
“He twice wanted to go the Melbourne way – once on the home turn and again after the line. He’s done a really good job to balance up and get the job done today. He’s a horse you can definitely follow with a bit of confidence.”
Racing in the colours of syndicators Roll The Dice Racing, Rhapsody Chic has now had eight starts for four wins, four placings and $156,449.
Horse racing news