3 minute read
Trainer and jockey quotes after the Group 2 Schillaci Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday won by Savatoxl.
Race Result:
1st: Savatoxl (Luke Currie/Tony & Calvin McEvoy) - $6
2nd: Dosh (Michael Dee/Grahame Begg) - $10
3rd: Bella Nipotina (Jye McNeil/Ciaron Maher & Dave Eustace) - $3.90
Winning Time: 1:03.33 Last 600m: N/A
Margins: Nose x Long Head
The amazing story of Savatoxl continues...
— Racing.com (@Racing) October 9, 2021
Dosh made a race of it! @mcevoymitchell @MelbRacingClub pic.twitter.com/VUtSERw4u3
Winning Trainer: Tony & Calvin McEvoy
"Seventeenth win. What a culture that is. Gee we're excited to having him back as well as that. Before, he was doing everything so easily that I thought he may have just needed it.
"That was a strung out race. They went very quick and it just shows how tough he is.
"His first run for me in the Balaklava Cup, he ran third and ran very well but just didn't run out the mile. He came to me in such great order and in form. We tried a couple of times at 1400 but at this level I knew that he needed up to 1200 metres max and he's turned out a great short course horse.
"The guys in 'Alice' had such great faith in this horse and I was pleased that they made the phone call to send him down to us."
What's next: "The Manikato."
Winning Jockey: Luke Currie
"We went out with the idea to press early but Dosh was so quick and I could see Mick Dee had a handful of horse even earlier and he was getting away from us.
"We were chasing most of the way and I thought it might stop but with the light weight it kept going and we were lucky to me close enough to grind away and get there on the line.
Towards the Manikato: "He had the one trial going into it so whatever he's done today he's going to improve on it.
"It was a tough effort to chase that speed and keep going. He's definitely on the right track."
Sam Freedman on Thousand Guineas
Zouzarella just wins?: "It's going to be a hard race. There's a few there going there in good form. She's probably come on since her run at Sandown.
"A bit of rain around wouldn't hurt her either. She's performed well on soft, so she's in good form."
She's the benchmark filly: "She probably has been but they've (other fillies) been improving at different rates. Some fillies get better as they get over further and we're hopeful that she is one of them."
On Elusive Express: "We haven't made a decision on whether she will run or not. She'll either run there or in the Ethereal on the Saturday."
Is she an Oaks horse: "She probably is. That's what we're thinking, but whether we run her at the mile again, we'll just work that out over the next couple of days."
