Trainer Bjorn Baker indicated that he would likely forgo the Grafton Cup later this month, instead aiming Thebudgiesmugla towards the spring carnival with a potential tilt at the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup double.
This achievement comes from a five-year-old gelding who arrived from New Zealand with initial doubts about his suitability to jumps racing, having been defeated in a provincial restricted event.
However, Thebudgiesmugla, owned by prominent syndicator Scott Darby of Darby Racing, has since secured five victories from his eight starts, including the Winter Cup-Caloundra Cup double, and is now recognised as one of the most promising stayers in training.
“Thebudgiesmugla just keeps improving,” Baker stated. “He’s only lightly-raced, he’s a typical Kiwi stayer who is still maturing and he will be even better again next season.”
“There is some thought to going to the Grafton Cup and, although you never make decisions on raceday, I’m leaning to giving him a break and setting him for the spring carnival. I’ll have to sit down with the owners (Darby Racing) and work out what we do with this horse, you can’t run in everything, but we don’t know how good he is just yet because he keeps raising the bar every start.”
The favourite, Thebudgiesmugla ($2.35), demonstrated a powerful finishing surge to win by half a length over the determined So You Are ($5), with Caboche ($8.50) finishing almost three lengths further back in third place.
The favourite validated the punters’ confidence with leading Aussie betting sites, while So You Are and Caboche both offered good value in betting apps Australia markets.
Renowned jockey Dylan Gibbons postponed his winter holiday to Fiji to partner Thebudgiesmugla, earning himself some travel money with the gelding’s strong performance.
While it’s a significant leap from a mid-winter Caloundra Cup to the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, Half Yours famously achieved that treble just 12 months prior.
Earlier in the day, the Tom Charlton-trained Cellarmaster secured victory in the Group 3 Winx Guineas over 1600 metres.
Cellarmaster ($5.50) narrowly defeated Platinum Pantheon ($6.50) in a close finish, with Rustemo ($8.50) finishing just over a length behind in third.
Cellarmaster delivered a winning dividend of $5.50 according to leading betting sites with sign up bonus, whereas the race favourite, Within The Law ($2.60), failed to perform after attracting considerable market support.
Within The Law, the $2.60 favourite and a stablemate of Thebudgiesmugla, was positioned just behind the leaders early on and found an inside run approaching the straight but could not sustain its effort, ultimately finishing sixth and beaten by more than three lengths.
Charlton commented that Cellarmaster deserved his significant race win.
“He enjoys being ridden a bit quieter, and we have learned that with him. It was a good performance,” Charlton commented. “I think he’ll keep improving, he’s definitely not the finished article. He’s a chance to run a bit further in time as well.”
Charlton further explained that after Cellarmaster’s third-place finish in the Phar Lap Stakes in Sydney during the autumn carnival, the decision was made to target the Gunsynd Classic at Eagle Farm, where he ultimately finished fifth behind the talented Skyhook.
“We thought the Gunsynd was his sort of race, which it arguably was, but it was a bit stronger than normal because those horses like Skyhook didn’t get a run in the Stradbroke,” Charlton elaborated. “But this was a touch weaker. We’ll give him a break and think about what we do. He is Magic Millions eligible so whether we think late summer prep into the Magic Millions, or whether we give him a couple of weeks off and come into the spring, we need to figure that out.”
For those keen to back the next emerging star, explore the latest racing odds at Australian betting sites.
