Craig Carmody, a former jockey with significant success at Randwick, has translated his expertise into training, guiding the promising sprinter Sir Les to a notable victory at the renowned track.
Carmody, widely remembered for partnering the multiple Group 1 winner Intergaze, famously upsetting Octagonal’s farewell in the 1997 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick, continues to ride his own track work, with Sir Les being his latest project.
Following initial wins at provincial tracks, the three-year-old proved his own undoing at Rosehill in May, becoming overly eager and finishing as the favourite, prompting Carmody to re-evaluate his approach.
The trainer decided to ease back on the horse, focusing on teaching him to better manage his acceleration. This strategic shift paid off handsomely on Saturday when Sir Les, starting at $4.40, secured a commanding 3-1/4 length win over the $2.40 favourite Benevac in the Sydney Roosters Partners Handicap (1100m).
“He’s a bit aggressive, so I’ve spent a lot of time on his slower work,” Carmody stated. “When he’d try to get ahead of me, I’d get him back to virtually a trot and slow canter, and eventually he would give to me.”
“Repetition, day after day, got it through his head that you don’t have to run through the bridle.”
After a two-decade career as a jockey, Carmody obtained his trainers’ licence in 2005 and has since achieved stakes race success with horses like Single and Everage.
Everage, the dam of Sir Les, also inspired the colt’s name, with both Sir Les Patterson and Dame Edna Everage being iconic characters created by the celebrated comedian Barry Humphries.
Carmody expressed his satisfaction with Sir Les’s resurgence, drawing light-hearted comparisons to his former mount, Intergaze.
“It was great to see. Like Intergaze,” he remarked. “I’m being very kind to Sir Les. He is nothing like Intergaze yet. But he gives me a great turn of foot, so that’s something to work on.”
Sir Les is now set for a spell, with plans to target sprint races in the summer and early autumn.
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