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With a lightning turn of foot, Avilius turned around his Australian Cup defeat to take the 2019 Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday.

Avilius now gives Godolphin the big decision as to whether they take on the great mare in three weeks.

Winning Trainer: James Cummings

On the win: “He’s a super horse and that was a demonstration of the supreme turn of foot that he can exhibit. Kerrin wasn’t here to ride the track, he was here to ride the horse and I think that was the key to getting the horse over the line.”

On the horse: “He had a bit to turn around from his performance in the Australian Cup and we knew it but he’s had a fantastic fortnight and I’m just proud of the team.

“I’m just so impressed by the horse to come from such a difficult position to claim them and win with authority.

“That’s the sort of weight for age promise that he demonstrated when he hit the racetrack in Australia last year. He’s got up and won us a Group 1 so we’re thrilled for the horse.”

On his next run: “I don’t want to make any decisions on race day, it will be up to the way Avilius pulls up. We hold a nomination for the Tancred next week but it’s very much a team effort to get him here and he’s done a wonderful job to improve many many lengths since getting back from Melbourne.”

Winning Jockey: Kerrin McEvoy

On the win: “He bounced back from that last start defeat in the Australian Cup. I think he enjoyed getting back to Sydney and getting onto some softer ground. I had a nice run through, following Auvray, he picked up really well when I asked him. He powered through the ground. Soon after I asked him I thought I’ve got this won.”

On the horse: “He’s pretty evident that he is pretty electric and that ground assisted him. He’s been well managed by James and they came here with a good amount of confidence today. The further I went in the run the more he started to travelled. He might go to 2400m in the old BMW, the Tancred, that’s still to be decided. Winx is the main girl in the QEII but he can put up a good fight I’m sure.”

Beaten Jockeys:

Damien Oliver (Almandin): “He’s just not racing up to his best, so I think his career might have come to the end now.”

Dwayne Dunn (Ace High): “He’s better probably on top of the ground or ridden that little bit quieter.”

Brett Prebble (The Taj Mahal): “He really struggled in the ground, I thought he would have loved a bit of cut in the ground being a European horse, but he couldn’t show his pace and never really travelled in it.”

James McDonald (He's Eminent): “Very proud of his efforts, he was gallant in defeat, it took a fit horse to beat him.”

Oisin Murphy (Night's Watch): “He didn’t handle the ground and just didn’t run his race.”

Mark Zahra (Sikandarabad): “Cardiac arrhythmia.”

Glyn Schofield (Auvray): “Doesn’t like the ground, but he ran pretty well.”

Opie Bosson (Danzdanzdance): “Very good run, she over-raced a little bit in the middle stages, little bit of a chequered run, but she hit the line hard.”

Craig Williams (Shillelagh): “Ended up being a bit of a shipwreck, when Sikandrabad came straight back through the field we had to take evasive action, she didn’t like the ground at all, but I thought she tried really hard under the circumstances.”

Hugh Bowman (Unforgotten): “Very proud of her.”

Brenton Avdulla (Egg Tart): “She gave me a good ride, I thought I was the winner on the corner, but just struggled up the straight.”

Corey Brown (Savvy Coup): “Didn’t handle the going.”

Blake Shinn (Nettoyer): “She ran really well, up to WFA from mares’ grade, kept making ground and did a great job to run fifth. She’s a top class mare in the making.”