While the spotlight shines on his quartet of contenders for the Cox Plate at Flemington, astute trainer Ciaron Maher will also be keenly observing Sydney’s racing action. His emerging three-year-old, Scarole, is set to lead the charge in the Spring Champion Stakes.
The stable has been experiencing a remarkable run of success, securing five black-type victories this past week alone. This included a significant Group 1 double across two states last Saturday, with Tempted claiming The Everest (1200m) and Saintly Dancer taking out the Thousand Guineas (1600m).
Adding to the mid-week triumphs, Maher’s team also achieved the Geelong Cup (2400m) and Geelong Classic (2200m) quinella with Point Of Law and Murshidi, respectively. Now, his Sydney foreman, Johann Gerard-Dubord, is optimistic about Scarole’s prospects of adding another major prize to their impressive tally at Randwick.
Having only debuted in July, Scarole has demonstrated rapid improvement through the grades. The colt broke his maiden status three starts back, followed by two successive Group placings in the Stutt Stakes (1600m) at Caulfield and the Gloaming Stakes (1800m) at Rosehill.
Nash Rawiller partnered Scarole for the first time in the Gloaming Stakes, and Gerard-Dubord believes this prior experience will prove invaluable in Saturday’s Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) at Randwick.
Scarole, typically a front-running type, encountered a slow start in the Gloaming Stakes and found himself positioned worse than midfield. Despite this, he finished strongly, narrowly missing out to rivals Proxima Dea and Wonka, both of whom are expected to be competitive again.
“He’s got a bit of a touchy mouth, so you just have to go with him,” Gerard-Dubord commented. “Nash had to go to Plan B last start, but he settled well and actually ran really well, so that gave us some options as to how we ride him. Nash has had a sit on him and knows him now, which I think will be a big thing.”
The margin between the first five finishers in the Gloaming Stakes was a mere half-length. While Proxima Dea displayed remarkable resilience to secure the victory, Gerard-Dubord suggests the difference between them is minimal.
“Run the race a few times, and you probably get a few different results,” he stated. “It’s an extra 200 metres and whoever stays will have a big advantage.”
In another race, the three-year-old filly Ciaron’s Star will represent the stable in the Listed Brian Crowley Stakes (1100m). She is resuming after an encouraging second to the quick Blue Door in the Heritage Stakes (1100m) last month.
Ciaron’s Star has maintained her fitness with a barrier trial win since her last start. Although the filly has taken time to reach peak condition this preparation, Gerard-Dubord is confident she is perfectly primed for Saturday’s challenge.
“She was very wintery for a while, and we pushed her back a couple of weeks before we got her started,” he explained. “The last ten days before her first-up run she really started to come on. Blue Door was a bit too fast for her, but she was good late. We feel she has come on quite a bit since that first-up run. She couldn’t look better and she’s got that run under her belt now.”
Jason Collett is scheduled to ride Ciaron’s Star from barrier three.
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