3 minute read

Trainer and jockey quotes after the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes at Randwick on Saturday taken out by Savatiano.

Race Result:

1st: Savatiano (H Bowman/J Cummings) - $3.80
2nd: Mizzy (R Bayliss/A Cummings) - $71
3rd: Masked Crusader (T Berry/M & W & J Hawkes) - $5.50

Winning Time: 1:14.41 Last 600m: 34.13

Margins: Short Half Head x 1¼L

Savatiano and @HugeBowman get the chocolates for @godolphin in an exciting edition of the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes! pic.twitter.com/akU5vcJKlP

— Sky Racing (@SkyRacingAU) March 6, 2021

Winning Trainer: James Cummings

On beating Anthony: "It's a bit cruel isn't it."

On the mare: "It's a great effort by Savatiano. She had a perfect preparation for this race. She was the deserving winner. We tossed and turned about whether to run her against the colt. It's a point we made during the week. If he gets a couple of things wrong up to 1300m and is there to be vulnerable then we might as well have the horse to come along and beat him."

"She now has a deserving G1. Has won over $2m in prizemoney without winning that G1 so far. Outside of Classique Legend there wouldn't be too many other horses around the world to do that. Hugh made her do it. He made a race of it before the turn. But she held off a late challenger. She demonstrated all her G1 courage."

On Bivouac: "He reared at the start. He's probably been half a run behind both runs now. It's a bit hard when in the back of your head you have plans for later in the year, inoculations and things make it a little harder to come to hand but if he's bang on in four week's time, I'd say that horse is by no means out of winning the TJ Smith. He probably worked that little bit too slick on Tuesday at Kembla. He's got improvement still in him."

Winning Jockey: Hugh Bowman

On the mare: "She was primed for today. She certainly raced well at Rosehill last start, James and the team have been very patient with her from that good performance.

"It was a high quality race today and she's been knocking on the door. She's a multiple Group 2 winner but to come here - that's her optimum distance. 1400m is ok, 1200m at this level is just too sharp for her but she's come here in a race at her optimum distance and she's now a Group 1 winning mare so she'll be very valuable for the Godolphin outfit."

On the win: "I was given a couple of hand notes to take with me to the barriers from Darren Beadman and James Cummings. I didn't know which one I was going to use but Darren said she can run a strong seven (furlongs) so when Nash started to control my pace from the 800m I thought 'I don't want to play into their hands, I want to use her strengths' so that's what I did.

"All credit goes to her because when I asked her to really go on and win the race at the 300m mark she certainly did it with authority. I was expecting some competition late in the piece and when Mizzy came, Savatiano showed her fighting qualities and won with authority in the end."

On riding his 98th Group 1 winner: "Hope I don't get out before the ton."

Beaten Jockeys:

Glen Boss (Bivouac): "Thought he went outstanding. He reared badly at the start. Missed it a length and a half. It wasn't so much that ground as the first furlong he completely got it wrong. It's the first time he's done that. He raced very fresh. All in all he went very well."

Nash Rawiller (Dreamforce): "He ran good. Hasn't been beaten far. Can't offer too many excuses. Over 1500m he's more chance to get control of a race. I thought he went good first up."

Josh Parr (Samadoubt): "The gap between runs obviously made it tough for him today."

Kerrin McEvoy (Victorem): "He was just plain today. Got back, gave them a start. He didn't get into the race at all."

Tim Clark (Dawn Passage): "He will take a bit of improvement off that. Probably better suited back to handicaps."

Tommy Berry (Masked Crusader): "Massive run. Just cost himself at the start."

James McDonald (Madam Rouge): "She ran well. Honest."

Regan Bayliss (Mizzy): "Tenacious effort. Going to be hard to beat in a week's time."