3 minute read
A snapshot of Randwick.
Tendon injury rules Durston out of carnival
Caulfield Cup winner Durston is the latest autumn carnival casualty after succumbing to a leg injury.
Trainer Chris Waller advised Racing NSW stewards that Durston, who was to have resumed in the Apollo Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday, had sustained an injury to his off-fore tendon.
It is the second time connections of the horse have been dealt a significant blow with the Group 1 winner ruled out of the Melbourne Cup when mandatory scans by Racing Victoria showed a small lesion in one of his hind legs.
It is uncertain if Durston will recover in time to make a spring carnival cameo.
Café has rivals on toast
He did more wrong than he did right but giant two-year-old Café Millenium oozed class with his breathtaking debut win in the Pierro Plate (1100m).
The youngster appeared a forlorn hope in the first half of the race, colliding with favourite Don Corleone shortly after the gates opened, settling last and wobbling around the home turn.
He was still racing greenly at the top of the straight but once he flattened out over the final 200m, the colt gobbled up the ground at a rate of knots to score by 1-1/4 lengths over Remedies with Empress Of Wonder another half-neck away.
Trainer John O'Shea said Café Millenium had shown similar ability at home but knowing he lacked race smarts, he brought him to Randwick thinking "he'd run a nice third or fourth".
"We knew he had the capacity to do what he did in the final part of the race, but he really needs to learn his craft," O'Shea said.
"We trialled him in the spring and then put him away with the intention of coming here in the autumn and seeing what he had to offer. You'd have to be impressed with what you saw there."
Café Millenium was partnered by visiting English jockey Tom Marquand, who backed up a winning double at Canterbury on Friday night to take out the opener at Randwick.
Like O'Shea, he believed the youngster's lack of race experience might have been telling.
"I thought he might show us a glimmer of what he had but I didn't know if he'd be streetwise enough to go and do that," said Marquand, who will miss next Saturday's Hobartville Stakes meeting to ride for William Haggas in Qatar.
Café Millenium has had his Golden Slipper price slashed from $101 into $11 while firming from $201 to $8 outright favouritism for the Sires' Produce Stakes.
Parr outed over Millennium fall
Josh Parr will be sidelined for the next month of the Sydney autumn carnival after being suspended for 20 meetings following his ride in the Inglis Millennium.
Parr pleased guilty to directing his mount Hellish outwards at a sharp angle near the 300-metre mark of Saturday's $2 million race, resulting in Tom Marquand and his mount Dorothy Gail crashing to the turf.
Clearly distressed by the incident, Parr pleaded guilty to the charge and stewards acceded to his request to begin his penalty immediately.
"You are known to us as a rider who generally rides with a great deal of care and respect for your fellow riders," chief steward Steve Railton told Parr.
Parr's penalty will expire on March 15, on which day he can ride.
Dorothy Gail was mildly lame after the race but otherwise unscathed, while Marquand was taken to St Vincent's hospital where initial scans cleared him of a shoulder injury.
CT scans of Marquand's head were also cleared him of any serious damage, although he did suffer a concussion and was staying in hospital overnight.
Stradbroke goal for Quantico
The past 12 months have been a test in patience for connections of smart sprinter Quantico, but the John O'Shea-trained gelding is finally back on track.
Off the scene since pulling up sore from last year's Newmarket Handicap, Quantico has benefited from a softly, softly approach to land a first-up win in Saturday's Group 3 Southern Cross Stakes (1200m).
A duffer on wet tracks, Quantico found his favoured firm surface at Randwick and despite over-racing early, he finished strongly to defeat Titanium Power and Gravina with Mr Mozart rattling home for an eye-catching fourth in a blanket finish.
"It is really rewarding for everyone associated with the horse," O'Shea said.
"He came away with a little injury as a result of the wet tracks, so we pulled up with him and gave him the liberty of an extended break.
"He's got enormous improvement. He was very rusty today….hopefully he's got a really good race in him as he gets some miles under his belt.
"Ultimately I think he's a Stradbroke horse – firm ground, Eagle Farm, 1400-metres."
Quantico is likely to have his next start in the Liverpool City Cup (1300m) at Randwick in two weeks before O'Shea picks a pathway through the autumn.
Quote of the day: "They've already given me one Ferrari being the horse (Learning To Fly), but I'd be happy to take another." – Chad Schofield after being asked if Coolmore Ferrari's promotion might include a luxury car for the winning jockey.
