Jockey Sam Clipperton achieved his most significant triumph since returning from retirement by guiding Juja Kibo to victory in the Randwick staying feature, The Metropolitan, despite its downgrade to Group 2 status.
Clipperton had previously retired from riding just over a year after winning the 2023 Everest aboard Think About It, only to make the decision to resume his career late last year.
Although Juja Kibo’s win in The Metropolitan (2400m) would have been classified as a Group 1 race in previous years, Clipperton expressed his immense satisfaction at being back in the winner’s circle on a prominent Sydney spring racing day.
“That’s all right. Pretty sure the prizemoney is the same,” Clipperton quipped.
“All that aside, I’m delighted to get this horse home.
“I’ve been riding him throughout the ‘prep’. He has been building for a big performance. Lovely to be able to stay on these horses on these big days and get the job done.”
Juja Kibo had not experienced a win for over a year, however, he had secured a third-place finish in the same race last year and accumulated several stakes placings since.
Jo Gerard-Dubord, representing trainer Ciaron Maher, indicated that Saturday’s Randwick feature had been a specific target, and the stable was optimistic following the six-year-old’s second-place finish in the recent Kingston Town Quality (2000m).
“It has been the plan all along to get him here third-up and try to have him peaking. After his last run two weeks ago we thought we were right on track,” Gerard-Dubord said.
“He still had plenty of improvement to come. He was very wintery that day and since then, he has really blossomed. He looks ten times better and that extra run under his belt, a bit of give in the track, was just ideal for him today. We had a good barrier and perfect ride from Sam.”
Gerard-Dubord further stated that Juja Kibo’s victory had effectively secured the horse’s path south, with the Melbourne Cup being the probable ultimate goal.
“On the back of that, you have to look at Victoria. The St Leger is up here but Victoria is very enticing,” he said.
“We’d love to see where he fits in. If he was going to run in the Melbourne Cup, whether you have to go through Caulfield (Cup) or not we’ll have to see, but we’ll definitely have a look at that.
“The Melbourne Cup is probably the one we want to get to. We’ll see how he pulls up first and see the best way to get there.”
Juja Kibo ($5.50) tracked the leaders and made his move in the home straight to win by 1-1/2 lengths from the favourite Aethelwulf ($2.80), with the early pacesetter The Euphrates ($4.20) finishing third, a further two lengths adrift.
Aethelwulf’s jockey, Zac Lloyd, commented that the race’s tempo did not favour his mount.
“They didn’t go quickly today. It was a sit and sprint,” Lloyd said.
“That suited the winner more than us. He has gone well again.”
For competitive racing odds on upcoming feature races, explore the latest offerings at Australian betting sites.