A reflection of the Caulfield Guineas Day in 2017.
by Shayne Driscoll
As owners very well know, racing is a funny game. A thrilling and frustrating game. Some days you head to the track full of expectation and head home disappointed. On other occasions, you go with no expectations, and end up celebrating well into the night.
With that in mind, we reflect on Caulfield Guineas Day, Saturday October 14, 2017. Or what I prefer to think of as the single greatest day in the history of OTI.
With my wife in tow (a rare occurrence given we had an almost 3yo and a 10-month-old at the time), I arrived at Caulfield this day with little expectation. We had a big day of runners, with 6 horses to race on an exceptional day of racing. This day contained both the Caulfield and Thousand Guineas, the Toorak, the Caulfield Stakes and, for horses trying to make the Caulfield Cup field the following week, the Herbert Power Stakes. I felt that our best winning chance on the day was going to be Tom Melbourne in the G1 Toorak Handicap, having finished 2nd in the G1 Epsom two weeks prior. Little did I know what was about to occur.
The Group 2 Herbert Power was Race 4 on the card and OTI was represented by two runners. Gallic Chieftain was to start 2nd favorite, and Lord Fandango, a winner of the Benalla Cup his start prior, was considered only a rough chance given the step up in grade. Both horses needed to win to gain a run in the Caulfield Cup, and it was Gallic Chieftain considered by me to be the better chance. Lord Fandango however had other ideas. Off a strong tempo throughout, Lord Fandango finished too strongly from midfield to win nicely. Gallic Chieftain, settling too far back at the tail of the field, was brave closing into 3rd position. Lord Fandango had won his G2 and made the Caulfield Cup field in what was a great, but unexpected, start to the day. (Side note: in 4th position was Boom Time, who the following week won the Caulfield Cup, benefitting from a lovely rails run. Lord Fandango would finish 4th in the Caulfield Cup, beaten less than 2 lengths despite running 3 wide, no cover for the entire journey. I have little doubt that, with just an ounce of luck, Lord Fandango should have won that Caulfield Cup).
Celebrations were cut short with grand old campaigner Fastnet Tempest contesting the following race, only to finish midfield. Next up was the G1 Thousand Guineas, over 1600m for 3yo Fillies. We had Aloisia entered, having just her fourth career start. We knew she had ability on the back of her 2yo campaign, but only an even effort first-up as a 3yo had us wondering whether she was good enough for a G1 Guineas. Courtesy of a perfect Luke Nolen ride, Aloisia saved ground along the fence and was too strong late for future G1 winners Shoals and Alizes, with another future G1 winner in Booker further back. OTI now had a double, with good old Tom Melbourne still to come!
With Gailo Chop contesting the Caulfield Stakes next up, Jacqui and I celebrated in the winner’s room with Aloisia’s owners while Terry attended to official duties for Gailo. A G1 winner in November 2015, Gailo had missed the best part of two years due to injury and was progressing nicely since a return to racing in August 2017. The Caulfield Stakes was his fifth race for the preparation, and he had primed for this race with a close-up third in the Underwood two weeks’ earlier. Facing similar opposition, he was considered a winning chance with Mark Zahra in the saddle. After jumping well and taking up the lead, Zahra was able to ‘stack and rack them’ through the middle stages, controlling the tempo well before kicking away on the turn and holding on late to a fast-finishing Johannes Vermeer. I’m not sure the staff in the winner’s room had ever heard a cheer so loud for the following race as they heard that day.
In less than two hours, OTI had won 2 x Group 1’s and a Group 2!
And Tom Melbourne in the Toorak? From a wide gate, Tom did what Tom did best. He ran well without winning, finishing 5th beaten just on two lengths. My pre-race day expectations had been blown out of the water, but in a good way.