Outside chance Kingdoms has produced an exceptional final straight sprint to win the card-ending Listed Mercedes Benz Centenary Mile (1600m) at Brisbane’s Eagle Farm Racecourse this afternoon ahead of Hi Son and Belle De Coeur.

Jumping from the gates only fairly, the High Chaparral gelding settled well and truly off the pace of early leaders Travolta, Perfect Punch and Transporter over the back straight, around ten lengths off the lead.

When Fillydelphia took the lead approaching the bend and upping the tempo, jockey Larry Cassidy moved Kingdoms off the fence and began picking up places, finding a clear racing line when hitting the final straight and producing a great final straight sprint to find the line a full length in the clear.

Trainer Brian Smith was understandably pleased with Kingdoms’ performance in the Mercedes Benz Centenary Mile, particularly in what was the four-year-old’s first competitive start since the Group 3 Lexus Stakes on November 2^nd.

“Larry rode him well – he kept a straight line in the straight today after being out wide and that was our main concern because in the past he hasn’t,” Smith said after the triumph.

“He’s only a little horse but he’s very much like It’s A Dundeel; a light framed stayer.

“He was cruisy there in the birdcage today, went out there with nothing wrong and as a trainer when you see them do that, they’re ready to do what they’ve got to do.

“He’ll run in the Tatt’s Mile and go from there. I want to run him in the Newcastle Cup and then The Metropolitan.”

Cassidy delivered a typically strong ride on Kingdoms in the 2014 Mercedes Benz Centenary Mile, and will quick to lay the praise on Smith and his team’s preparation.

“He caught us all by surprise – riding in track work he still wants to lean out a bit but we couldn’t get a true line on him and then when I rode him at a trial all he wanted to do was run off,” Cassidy said.

“There’s been an enormous amount of work go into him, not so much by me but by everyone else concerned.

“BJ (Brian Smith) is very good at getting them to win first-up no matter what the distance is. I rode this horse in work about three months ago and I don’t know what it was but I said he was a very good horse.”

Ladbrokes.com.au is currently offering the best early odds on all major races through the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival!

Sign up for the all-new Ladbrokes Card to take advantage of your winnings just seconds after your pick has passed the post!

2014 Mercedes Benz Centenary Mile Results

Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Starting Price
1	5	KINGDOMS (NZ)	Brian Smith	Larry Cassidy	–	12	54.5kg	$21
2	7	HI SON	David Kelly	Tegan Harrison (a)	1.3L	4	54kg	$21
3	8	BELLE DE COEUR	Luke Price	Glen Boss	1.4L	5	54kg	$6
4	10	ELMANTOSH	Bruce W Hill	Michael Cahill	2.4L	11	54kg	$18
5	6	QUEENSTOWN	Gai Waterhouse	Tommy Berry	2.6L	2	54kg	$4.60
6	2	FIRE UP FIFI	Robert Heathcote	Timothy Bell	3.9L	7	57.5kg	$12
7	1	TRAVOLTA (NZ)	Gai Waterhouse	Nash Rawiller	5.2L	8	60kg	$9
8	4	FILLYDELPHIA	Robert Heathcote	Damian Browne	5.3L	10	56kg	$20
9	3	TRANSPORTER	John P Thompson	Jim Byrne	7.3L	1	57.5kg	$3.50F
10	11	QUEEN’S ELECT	Joseph Pride	Tim Clark	9.6L	3	54kg	$19
11	9	BOREHOLE	David J Lawlor	Jason Taylor	11.1L	6	54kg	$101
12	12	PERFECT PUNCH	Maryann Brosnan	Ric McMahon	14.1L	9	54kg	$101