Tom Kitten has made history as the initial horse to secure consecutive victories in the All-Star Mile following an exciting success at Flemington.
The Godolphin runner triumphed in last year’s version, elevated to Group 1 status, under the guidance of James Cummings, whereas this Saturday’s success followed a barn switch at the season’s start, moving to Anthony and Sam Freedman.
Keeping the $2.35 market leader Pride Of Jenni close, Tom Kitten at $3.90 was forced to dig deep with Craig Williams aboard to prevail by a short-neck over Evaporate ($12), while the favourite finished a head further back in third.
The gelding remains perfect in two autumn outings, having returned victorious in the Group 3 Kevin Heffernan Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 7.
Opting against the Group 1 Futurity Stakes over the identical track and distance a fortnight on, the Freedman duo chose to enter Saturday’s event fresh after a workout at Caulfield Heath last month.
Sam Freedman called Tom Kitten a remarkable galloper following a spring preparation that derailed after the gelding was scratched late at the gates in the Memsie Stakes.
“He’s been to the top for a long time, and we’ve been blessed to get him into the stable in the last eight or nine months,” Freedman said.
“We were disappointed with the spring we had with him. We felt he was going well, but we were chasing our tail, but this prep, I don’t know what it is.
“I rang Dad this morning and said he’s a different horse. He looks amazing, he’s holding more condition, he’s racing heavier than he was in the spring.
“Sometimes you are a victim when horses change yards. They go onto a different feed, a few changes can happen pretty quickly.
“He’s now in a nice routine at Pinecliff, gets out into a paddock during the day.
“He’s a remarkable horse and turns up every time.
Although the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) on March 28 appears a natural progression for Tom Kitten, Freedman indicated the Group 1 Doncaster Handicap (1600m) at Randwick on April 4 could be the favoured path.
“I feel he’s best fresh at a mile,” Freedman said.
“We might see him in the Doncaster more likely than the Australian Cup.
“He might grind away late like he wants the 2000 metres, but he likes a strong tempo where he can sit back and stalk them.
“We’ll have a chat as he’s also entered in Dubai and Hong Kong, so there’s plenty of options for him.
“The beauty of him is he’s an easy horse to work with.”
For Williams, this marked his initial victory in the All-Star Mile, which began in 2019.
The top jockey had placed runner-up in the prior two editions on Mr Brightside, behind Tom Kitten last year and Pride Of Jenni in 2024.
He missed the 2023 edition due to injury when Mr Brightside prevailed.
“This horse beat me last year in this race on Brightside and because we haven’t got Brightside now, if you can’t beat them, join them, I thought,” Williams said.
“He’s just a big, strong individual and he knows it. He’s content and we saw it today under race pressure.”
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