Godolphin’s gelding, Pericles, has proven the choice to forgo a suitable Melbourne race for a lucrative sprint closer to home was the correct one, securing a thrilling victory in the Russell Balding Stakes.
After deliberation between targeting the Damien Oliver (1400m) at Flemington or contesting a competitive field in Saturday’s Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) at Randwick, trainer Bjorn Baker and the Godolphin ownership group opted for the latter.
Their decision paid off handsomely as Pericles, a $17 chance, powered through on the inside under Dylan Gibbons, narrowly defeating Headwall ($4.60) by three-quarters of a length. The winner’s stablemate, Caballus ($17), finished a further long neck back in third.
“From the minute he was transferred to Bjorn he made a lot of commentary about how fast he was, and I think we’ve seen that today,” said Jason Walsh, racing and bloodstock manager for Godolphin.
“He’s obviously had two six furlong runs in preparation for it, and he looked pretty well at home the other day.”
“He’s a very, very talented animal. His distance range is somewhere up to a mile. He’s taken us to a lot of big days, and it’s great to get a result like that in such a lucrative race.”
Although Pericles has won up to 1800m, Baker has focused on speed for the start of his campaign.
This strategy was evident in his winning time of 1:14.05, which shattered the previous track record set by Trapeze Artist in 2019.
Considering this was only the horse’s third start this campaign, Walsh indicated that several options for his next outing would be considered, including the C F Orr Stakes (1400m) at Sandown on November 14.
“We were talking about the C F Orr from here,” Walsh stated. “A little bit may depend on if Beiwacht is turning up there as well. But that’s probably the next option without pre-empting what we might do. He’s a great horse.”
Jimmysstar, the $3.80 favourite, found the moderate pace unsuitable, according to jockey Ethan Brown.
“Race shape against,” Brown commented.
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