The imported stayer The Euphrates, previously under the care of Aidan O’Brien in Ireland, made a significant impact in his second outing for Tulloch Lodge, securing an impressive victory from the front in the Group 2 $300,000 Kingston Town Stakes (2000m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
Demonstrating superior stamina, The Euphrates maintained a relentless pace, clocking a swift 2m 0.48s for the 2000m, placing it among the fastest times ever recorded at Randwick and narrowly missing the 2013 course record of 2m 0.30s set by Hampton Court.
Bott expressed no surprise at the emphatic nature of The Euphrates’ win.
“To be honest, I would have been disappointed if he didn’t win today – he’s a very, very good horse,” Bott said.
“He put the writing on the wall with a great return over the mile (fourth in the Chelmsford Stakes) earlier this month and he backed that up today,” Bott said.
“The Metropolitan has always been the plan but we have been thinking further ahead.
“The big picture is the Caulfield Cup and the Melbourne Cup with him. He has two mile form in Europe and certainly stays the trip at a higher level, and he showed that today.”
Under jockey Tim Clark, The Euphrates ($5) dictated terms throughout, comfortably holding off challengers to win by almost a length from Juja Kibo ($7). Soul Of Spain ($3.90 favourite) finished a length further back in third.
Despite the brisk pace and fast overall time, Clark noted that The Euphrates appeared to be running with considerable ease.
“He has been off the scene for such a long time but he ran pretty well first-up and credit to Gai and Adrian who were able to put the ground work into him that he could still bounce off that and not put in a flat run,” Clark said.
“He is starting to get out to a distance range that suits him now. He galloped all the way through the line and was last to pull up.
“We’ve seen so many imports come to Australia, especially with Gai and Adrian, just put that speed into their legs. He has that great stamina and I look forward when he gets over further.”
The son of the undefeated Frankel, who boasts a Timeform rating of 147 from his 14 wins, including 10 Group 1 victories, has now added to Waterhouse and Bott’s success with the stallion’s progeny, following Group 1 winners Sir Delius and Converge.
The six-year-old gelding, who had not competed for almost two years before his Chelmsford Stakes run, had previously won four of his 13 starts for O’Brien, including the Listed Marble City Stake, and placed fourth in the Group 1 Irish St Leger behind Kyprios and Vauban.
His victory in the Kingston Town Stakes signals a strong return and suggests he is making up for lost time.
“He will go to The Metropolitan next run and the further we get with him the better,” Bott said.
“Today was a dominant performance, it was great to see him stick it out as well as he did.
“He hasn’t been racing for two years so I would like to think there is further improvement to come.
“He has that brilliant tactical speed, that cruising speed, and that ability to sustain it which is going to open up some great staying feature races for him.”
The Euphrates has now become the second favourite at $5 for the Group 2 $750,000 The Metropolitan (2400m) at Royal Randwick on October 3, trailing only Aethelwulf ($3), the impressive winner of the Newcastle Gold Cup on Friday.
With handicaps of 52.5kg for the Group 1 $6.5 million Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 17 and 54kg for the Group 1 $10 million Melbourne Cup (3200m) on November 3, The Euphrates is eligible for potential weight penalties in both major races.
Punters looking to back The Euphrates in the upcoming Caulfield Cup can find the best racing odds at leading Australian betting sites.