Vauban appeared to be in trouble around the home bend before his exceptional endurance qualities activated, allowing him to pull away and claim victory in the Group 3 $350,000 Sky High Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.
The ex-Irish hurdler, now approaching nine years old, proved he remains a serious contender as he fought back bravely under duress to notch successive victories in the Sky High Stakes.
“Vauban’s such a remarkable horse, he really is,” said Adrian Bott, who trains in partnership with Gai Waterhouse.
“Australia has really got behind him and so has the ownership group. He’s been a great ride for them. He’s here on the back of a Melbourne Cup campaign and he looks as good as ever.
“I’m really proud of the horse and hopefully he is set for a nice preparation. He gives you such tremendous satisfaction this horse.”
Vauban ($3.40), with Tim Clark aboard, etched his name in history as the initial horse to win the Sky High Stakes more than once, prevailing by a length over Soul Of Spain ($3.80), while Just Fine ($10) was another length back in third position.
The $2.80 market elect, Wootton Verni, enjoyed prime position throughout but weakened late to end up in fifth spot.
Clark noted that Vauban “feels like a spring three-year-old.”
“I just think the last couple of weeks he’s really blossomed, he’s got that spring in his step, he’s shown that in a couple of his bits of his work of late,” Clark said.
“Once I was able to get to the position I got to early in the race I was pretty confident from that point onwards. I thought he let down really well and he’s started his prep off in good style.
“I think that was a better win than this time last year, so hopefully he’s in for another good preparation.”
Bott indicated that Vauban is now targeted at the Group 1 $1.5 million Tancred Stakes (2400m) at Rosehill in a fortnight, with eyes on gearing the gelding up for yet another crack at the Melbourne Cup down the line.
Vauban placed 14th behind Without A Fight in the 2023 Melbourne Cup, followed by 11th to Knights Choice the subsequent year under Willie Mullins’ guidance.
Last year, Waterhouse and Bott assumed control of Vauban’s training, guiding him to sixth place behind Half Yours in the Melbourne Cup.
“I’m not sure about the Sydney Cup this autumn but we will definitely go for the Melbourne Cup again,” Bott said.
“I would like to go through the Tancred like we did last year. Arguably he’s come back better this year and it looks to be a lovely race for him.
“He’s obviously going to be better suited as he gets deeper into the preparation, over a little bit further as well. We might also look at Brisbane, too.”
Clark believes last year’s Tancred Stakes, where Vauban finished third to Dubai Honour, could have been a missed opportunity.
“A little bit of unfinished business in a couple of weeks time, in the Tancred,” Clark said.
“It just went a little bit wrong last year, it might have been one that got away. So, hopefully in two weeks time we can redeem ourselves.”
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