Talented three-year-old Arabian Gold has produced a strong final straight sprint win the Group 3 Adrian Knox Stakes (2000m) on day 1 of the inaugural The Championships at Royal Randwick this afternoon.

Jumping well, Arabian Gold settled in prime position on the heels of early pace setter Amanpour and Paris Match over the back straight and rounding the bend.

Finding the final straight with a clear racing line, the exiting Dubawi filly comfortably took up the pace and broke clear of the pack, finishing a length in the clear of Missvonn and Lady Cumquat and delivering jockey Blake Shinn career win number one thousand.

Trainer David Vandyke has understandable pleased with the efforts of Arabian Gold in the 2014 Adrian Knox Stakes, crediting a good preparation for the success.

“It wasn’t run to suit her; she was out facing the breeze and probably a little closer than we wanted but that was dominant” Vandyke said following the race.

“She’s back, she trialled well last week and she’s just started to come good now – couldn’t be happier.

“We’ve had  a bit of a rough trot this year and Michael and the team have just had their heads down and bums up and working hard and we’ve reaped the rewards of that today, it’s terrific.

“I love this girl; she’s such a beautiful horse.”

Jockey Blake Shinn offered up a top ride on Arabian Gold in the 2014 Adrian Knox Stakes

“It’s very special; it’s something you don’t really set out to achieve but it’s something I’m pretty proud of” Shinn said of chalking up his thousandth victory.

“She’s a great filly; full credit to David Vandyke, he never lost faith in her.

“She had a job at task; 59kgs on a heavy track but her class prevailed and it was a very dominant win.”

Following the impressive win under handicap conditions, an appearance in next weekend’s major Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) now looms as a likely target for Arabian Gold.

Ladbrokes.com.au is currently offering the best odds on all 2014 autumn races, including the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes!

Open an account and deposit at Ladbrokes.com.au today to claim a bonus bet of up to $250!

2014 Adrian Knox Stakes Results

Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Starting Price
1	1	ARABIAN GOLD	David Vandyke	Blake Shinn	–	8	59kg	$6.50
2	11	MISSVONN	Guy Walter	Craig Newitt	1.3L	6	54kg	$5
3	4	LADY CUMQUAT	Roger James	Nash Rawiller	1.8L	5	56kg	$4F
4	12	PARIS MATCH	Anthony Cummings	Glen Boss	4.8L	15	54kg	$21
5	8	AMANPOUR	Gai Waterhouse	Tommy Berry	6.6L	7	54kg	$10
6	3	METAPHORICAL	Peter G Moody	Brenton Avdulla	6.7L	1	56.5kg	$13
7	5	ESTONIAN PRINCESS	Scott Aspery	Hugh Bowman	7.6L	9	55kg	$10
8	2	ROLE MODEL (NZ)	Gai Waterhouse	Tim Clark	7.7L	2	57kg	$9
9	10	MOORLUV	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	James McDonald	9.6L	12	54kg	$13
10	16	BLUE EYES	Pat Carey	Rhys McLeod	15.1L	13	54kg	$81
11	15	MARY LOU	Anthony Cummings	Joao Moreira	16.7L	11	54kg	$101
12	13	SWEET JAFFA	Guy Walter	Christian Reith	17.2L	10	54kg	$71
13	17	SIBERIAN ROSE	Peter Wiggins	Jay Ford	17.4L	4	54kg	$201
14	7	DEVIL MISS	David Payne	Jason Collett	18.5L	14	54kg	$101
15	14	HIGH HARMONY (NZ)	Guy Walter	Ms Kathy O’Hara	22.4L	3	54kg	$16